Belinda Otas

Belinda Otas is a versatile journalist, writer, editor, cultural critic, and an independent blogger. She has a passionate interest in Africa: politics, social development, arts and culture, gender issues and the African diaspora. Currently working as a freelance journalist with various publications aimed at the international community – she has contributed to: CNN, BBC News Online, BBC Focus on Africa, The Africa Report, Think Africa Press, New African and New African Woman magazines, Divascribe and Zam magazine based in Holland, GuinGuinBali.com, The Atlanta Post, among others. For these various publications, she covers politics, social development, gender, health and education stories, fashion and the arts and culture.

Belinda has interviewed an array of interesting people, including Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Laureate and renowned Liberian peace activist, Zainab Salbi, founder of Women for Women International, Bill T. Jones, director of the critically acclaimed Fela! and Sahr Ngujah, who played the lead role in the same the production. Michael Boyd, artistic director of the RSC, Erik Berglof, Chief Economist, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and acclaimed authors like Petinah Gappah, Chika Unigwe and many more…

Belinda is the literary critic for the New African and New African Woman magazines. She has also contributed to non-African publications such as The Root (U.S.), from the black British experience and African sensibility of news stories, and has written articles for Publishing Perspectives (U.S.), an international online publishing platform, about publishing in Africa. Belinda also writes for Belletrista, based in the US, where she focuses on women writers from different parts of the world. Her love for literature makes her a well sought after voice and she recently joined the Africa Book Club, an online portal, as a contributor on African literature and publishing industry.

A creative spirit, avid reader and writer, Belinda calls herself, a theatre junkie and would gladly sleep there every night if she had her way. Currently working on her first full length play, she has worked with prestigious theatre companies like the Royal Shakespeare Company and Tita Fahodzi as an arts journalist. ‘I live through my words,’ says Belinda, and adds that nothing gives her greater joy than meeting people from different spheres and works of life with diverse views and opinions, on life and global issues. And as such, challenge and compel her to view life through a different lens. For her, that is one of the most exciting things about being a journalist.

For Belinda’s full bio, go to: http://belindaotas.com/?page_id=2