The curtain closes on WinterABC 2021 Storytelling Festival.

WinterABC 2021: the Afrobloggers month-long digital storytelling festival ended on a high note on the 30th of June 2021! This year’s festival, which had a different format attracted 96 bloggers from 11 different African countries.

We note with appreciation the improved quality of stories that were shared during this year’s festival and we are very grateful to everyone who took their time to participate. Without you, this festival would not have been a success. Thank you for sharing your stories, for reading, and for cheering on Africa’s storytellers.

Congratulations to Ghanaian Elise Tirza, of lettersfromthisheart.com for being voted the Most Outstanding Blogger of WinterABC 2021! [see table below for other nominees and what fellow bloggers had to share as feedback]

We believe there were so many lessons, opportunities, and friends that you gained through this festival. We would love to hear all about it in the comments section below. Until next year.

Keep on igniting the conversations!

Bruce – Creative Director

Nominees Website/Url	Tell us: What was outstanding about this blogger?
Hey Anci http://www.heyanci.wordpress.com	The effortless tackling of themes on the Winterabc 2021 challenge and she still went on to post her usual book reviews. She’s a true Koffiekween like she calls herself.
Dose of Wonani https://doseofwonani.wordpress.com/	She was very consistent. She made sure not to miss a single day to post for the winterABC 2021 despite her busy university schedule. Aside from that, she managed to produce content that provided value to readers. She didn’t sacrifice quality for quantity. I think the reason for this is she may have prepared her topics before the challenge: I don’t know how much of this is true. This is something I speculate. She also never failed to engage with content from other bloggers…The comments were valuable. She didn’t comment only a few sentences (some bloggers just leave a few words like “nice reading,” “loved this,” etc. I know I’m guilty of this sometimes) but they were long and meaningful. So for me, these were some of the reasons I think Wonani was outstanding compared to other bloggers.
Nsatu Rated Thoughts https://missnsatu.wordpress.com/	She has exhibited range in the approach to the WinterABC 2021 festival, including poetry, interviews, and summary blogs. She has been interactive, creative, and eloquent. She is outstanding.
Husky’s World https://vyolaz2cents.wordpress.com	Her content.
Letters from this heart https://lettersfromthisheart.com/	She is an amazing storyteller and she has got a way of expressing different emotions and feelings in one piece.
Letters from this heart https://lettersfromthisheart.com/	She created a love story throughout the Afrobloggers digital storytelling festival. Like how did she do that? We are talking business and tech and all I am seeing is love. Ok Ok, I am a sucker for love but this lady’s storytelling style is off the hook!!!
Random Thoughts of Shadray https://randomthoughtsofshadray.com	He is so consistent and his content is relatable. He lost a parent but didn’t stop blogging regularly. I’m so inspired by him.
Tikia with Grace https://tikiawithgrace.com/	I especially like that she has used her platform to highlight and cheer on other people especially in creatives week. I like the thoughts and insights she evoked with her cultural stories.
Nsatu’s Rated Thoughts https://missnsatu.wordpress.com/	I discovered Nsatu’s blog during the WinterAbc 2021 challenge. What I love about her blog is the research and thoughts she puts in her posts. I mostly grew fond of her during Advocacy week. She does not have a lot of followers as yet but I see potential in her work. If she continues to be consistent and put enough effort into her work, she will surely make it as creative. After the festival, I would love for her and me to work on something together.
Exhortations with Shazzy http://www.sanctuaryofgreatness.wordpress.com	Shazzygirl has been very engaging throughout this blogging festival, with her fresh writing style and inspiring storytelling. She has been commenting on most Twitter posts with follow up on the actual blog posts and that says a lot for me: genuine interest in what others have to say about a certain topic.
Humanity Boss http://humanityboss.wordpress.com	Nicole captured each weekly leitmotif with a unique style of writing. So easy-going and fun to read.
Dose of Wonani http://doseofwonani.wordpress.com	Consistent and articulate with her writings I love how she does her breakdowns to ease understanding for her readers. You definitely walk away having learned something
Yuri’s Blog https://happecactus.com/	I like the theme of the blog- self-care and how it has been able to provide basic solutions to most of my Tech issues being that I am a tech novice.
Behind Closed Screens http://behindclosedscreens.wordpress.com	She’s consistent, her blog is exciting. I love how she puts her content together. It’s beautiful.
Letters from this heart http://lettersfromthisheart.com/	I like how she was able to stick to her niche of storytelling and still be able to articulate all the themes in a well-thought way. A story that has most of us captivated. All of us can write but to do what Elise did in this short span of time is a work of art, the true definition of a writer.
Mwene http://yongyera.wordpress.com	Mwene is a survivor of a stroke. He writes using just one hand, (the right one) yet he has participated in this festival one hand at a time even publishing more blog posts than most of us, and if you are to notice he has greatly improved his writing. I believe this win will encourage him to fight on more and keep writing! Thanks.
Letters from this heart http://lettersfromthisheart.com/	She has an amazing writing style, that is captivating, tells a story as it weaves  a theme creatively  and yet, still she meaningfully shares from the deepest parts of her heart.
Dose of Wonani http://doseofwonani.wordpress.com	I loved her: -Consistency, she posted on all the days. -Ability to tailor the themes to the nature of her blog -Precise and concise articles. Her articles were straight to the point and her calls to action were clear -Interaction with other bloggers even outside the blog.
Lutgard Musiime- The Nutritionist http://lutgardmusiime.com	She had a good amount of information for each post and was able to share well-arranged and neat articles each day.
Exhortations with Shazzy https://sanctuaryofgreatness.wordpress.com/	Shazzy’s posts were always well thought through. I loved that she flavored her submissions with pictures and took the time to have custom-made title headings.
Words from the Pot http://justynlove.wordpress.com	I loved her graphics and how she engaged with her audience. The way she shared her personality throughout her posts was amazing. Her content was interactive!