Cultureword is delighted to announce the appointment of Nii Ayikwei Parkes as Chief Executive.
Nii Ayikwei Parkes brings over 25 years of experience working in publishing, creative writing, executive training, event management, and cultural production. He founded the widely acclaimed small publisher flipped eye publishing in 2001 and was the founding director of the Ama Ata Aidoo Centre for Creative Writing in Accra, before joining Brighton Festival in 2018 as the Producer of Literature and Talks, followed by a two-year research fellowship at the Hutchins Center at Harvard University. He serves on the boards of the Caine Prize, World Literature Today and the African Books Collective and leads creative writing lectures for the London Library Emerging Writers Programme.
Incoming CEO, Nii Ayikwei Parkes, said: “It is a deeply felt privilege for me to take the helm at Cultureword, an appointment that marks a 30-year milestone in my connection with the organisation. Cultureword is a legacy organisation. Working class folk and persons of colour have been central to its work from its origins as Commonword in 1977. Now an ACE National Portfolio Organisation, there is no question about the value and impact of Cultureword. The next chapter, which I am honoured to be a part of, is to walk in that legacy and make Cultureword more pivotal for writer development on a national scale by expanding our partnerships and adapting to the shifting realities of Manchester, the North West and the world.”
Starting his career in management with Unilever in the late 1990s, Nii Ayikwei moved to work in diplomacy roles before transitioning to a portfolio career with writing at its centre. In this period, he inhabited a number of roles including consulting for the National Theatre’s Art of Regeneration project to help revive the Albany Theatre in Deptford; training managers and executives for public-speaking engagements; and serving as a member of the Finance Committee at Arvon responsible for coordinating fundraising of £2.3 million to renovate John Osbourne’s house (The Hurst) to run writing residencies.
In March this year, we held a leaving party for Dr Peter Kalu who for over a quarter of a century worked to make Cultureword the pivotal institution it has become and served as our Chief Executive. In preparation, the Cultureword Board led a recruitment process from February 2026, completing the search in May 2026.
Outgoing CEO, Dr Peter Kalu, said: “The role I leave has many dimensions and requires a certain level of versatility: vision, determination and creativity are prerequisites for the job. Nii Ayikwei Parkes is not just an acclaimed writer, activist and publisher with an international profile and a bulging CV; he was a beneficiary of Cultureword’s initiatives himself in the 1900s and I believe he really ‘gets’ what Cultureword is about. I am confident that I am handing the controls to a skilled and creative set of hands and he will build well on the solid foundations that he inherits. This is a superb appointment that augurs well for literature in the Northwest and beyond.”
On behalf of the Cultureword Board, Dr Muli Amaye said: “The experience and expertise Nii Ayikwei Parkes brings with him gives us confidence that Cultureword is going to expand and move into a new era whilst building on the strong foundation that it sits on. Nii has a calm way about him that encourages collaboration and growth. His dedication to the craft of writing, his strong ethical stance and activism sits well within Cultureword’s ethos and will serve us well.”
Nii Ayikwei Parkes is already in post at Cultureword, taking guidance from Peter Kalu to help ensure a seamless transition in leadership.
Press Release Nii Ayikwei Parkes joins Cultureword as CEO July 2026
