Our History in Milestones
Founded by Koko Kalango.
Kicked off the ‘Get Nigeria Reading again!’ campaign in Port Harcourt with Chimamanda Adichie. The campaign also held in Lagos, Abuja, Calabar. Participants have included Wole Soyinka, Obi Ezekwesili, Emeka Anyaoku.
Kicked off the Leaders Read campaign where we get prominent people to read to children. Readers have included Now Grammy Award winner Burna Boy, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, Civil Rights Activist Jesse Jackson and Vice President Osinbajo.
Began the Garden City Literary Festival in Port Harcourt, renamed the Port Harcourt Book Festival in 2012. Keynote speakers have included Chinua Achebe, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, Amma Atta Aidoo and Matthew Kukah.
Marked Nigeria’s fiftieth independence anniversary at the book festival where we awarded 50 important writers and published a coffee table book titled Nigerian Literature: A Coat of Many Colours, featuring 50 prominent Nigeria writers.
With the support of the Presidency and the Government of Rivers State, Rainbow submitted a bid for Port Harcourt to be UNESCO World Book Capital 2014.
Port Harcourt is named UNESCO World Book Capital 2014.
Marked the centenary of the city of Port Harcourt with the publication of a book titled 100 Years Around Port Harcourt, a collection of stories by children from the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers State about their communities.
Marked Nigeria’s centenary with the publication of a book 100 Years Around Nigeria, a collection of stories by children in the 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory about their states.
Port Harcourt tenure as World Book Capital kicked off.
Managed the Africa 39 project, a collaboration between the Rainbow Book Club and Hay Festival that selected and celebrated 39 of the most important African writers under the age of 40, leading to the publishing of an anthology titled 'Africa 39' by Bloomsbury publishers.
Managed the establishment of the Port Harcourt Literary Society library sponsored by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to mark Nigeria’s centenary.
Published Rainbow Stories by Kids and Rainbow Stories by Teens, from the Rainbow Book Club Creative Writing competition sponsored by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
Established the Rainbow Prize for Literature for the best graduating student in literature at the West African School Council exams in 3 schools; Fed. Govt. Girls. College Abuloma, Port Harcourt, Kings College Lagos and Loyola College, Abuja.