Sylvia Arthur, born in London, England, to Ghanaian parents, is a writer, journalist, communications consultant, literary curator and cultural activist.
[2] Arthur explores in her work issues of identity, diaspora and place,[3] with publications and outlets for which she has written including The Guardian, Lithub, the BBC, and the British Journalism Review.
I'd buy books weekly from one cavernous secondhand bookstore, but these were no ordinary castoffs, they were special; well-cared-for with barely cracked spines by writers from around the world.
"[12][13] Since 2022, LOATAD has also hosted a residency programme enabling writers from West African countries to make use of the library's resources while working on a longform writing project.
[14][15] Having herself benefited from residences, such as Hedgebrook[16] in Washington State and the Santa Fe Art Institute in New Mexico,[3][17] Arthur observes: "By allowing African writers to be in an environment where they are surrounded by the work of their literary forebears, you immediately change their perspective.
Apart from the thousands of readers who get access to book by writers of Africa and its diaspora, more than 50 creatives have benefitted from the library as fellows and residents, creating groundbreaking work and forming enduring networks which will produce their own cultural treasures.