Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. is an American historian, literary critic, filmmaker and public intellectual. Chigozie Obioma (born 1986) is a Nigerian writer shortlisted for the 2015 Booker Prize and has been described, in a New York Times book review, as "the heir to Chinua Achebe." Olu Oguibe is a Nigerian-born American artist and intellectual, Professor of Art and African-American Studies at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. Sarah Nuttall is Professor of Literary and Cultural Studies and Director of WiSER (Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research) in Johannesburg South Africa. Helen Trompeteler is Curator of Photographs of the National Portrait Gallery, London, UK. Toni Kan holds both M.A and B.A degrees in English Literature from the Universities of Lagos and Jos (in Nigeria) respectively and is the author of 4 critically acclaimed works of fiction and poetry. Osahon Akpata, born in Lagos, Nigeria, published his first novel at age 11 and contributes articles to several magazines and blogs including Vogue Italia, Forbes Africa and ONE Blog. Binyavanga Wainaina is a Kenyan author, journalist and winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing.