We don’t have too many libraries in Kenya. In fact at a speech that was given to us by the Storymoja Hay festival boss Muthoni Garland boss over the weekend only 2% of Kenyan schools have a library on site. This is why we need more of them to ensure that more Kenyans have access […]
The biggest literary event in Kenya will be happening this weekend as the Storymoja Hay Festival 2013 makes its way to the National Museum of Kenya in Nairobi. There will be a series of events for all of you who have an interest in the written word. For those just like to party you are […]
Pen International is an association of writers, founded in London to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The organisation has chapters in over 100 countries including Kenya which is run by a team of guys led by Khainga O’Okwemba. This year the organisation introduced a new prize they called the New Voices Award […]
The Man Booker Prize is one of the biggest in the literary business with winner going home with £50,000. That’s UK pounds. Launched in 1969, the prize aims to promote the finest in fiction by rewarding the best novel by a citizen of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland. Judges are […]
The book business is a very exciting one to be involved in at any one time. The excitement however has just gone down a little notch for Nairobi based book lovers with changes in the tax code. Previously the book was a zero rated product which meant that it did not attract the 16% Value […]
I recently mentioned that the Associate Professor of African Literary and Gender studies at the University of the Witwatersrand Pumla Dineo Gqola is chair of the new Etisalat prize for African writing. This was just before she unleashed her latest work “A renegade called Simphiwe.” This book is a series of essays focusing on Simphiwe […]
You know we love the short story in Kenya right?I have a feeling that vibe was started when Binyavanga Wainaina won that prize all those years ago. This was followed by Yvonne Adhiambo Owour for that terrific Weight of Whispers the year after that.With Muthoni Garland, Parsalelo Kantai and Billy Kahora going down the same […]
The other weekend I was in Kampala for the Writivism Festival 2013. This is a new initiative based in the Ugandan city to “connect literature to reality.” In English it is for the purpose of nurturing young writers and giving them a platform to shine. The brains behind the whole thing is Makerere University professor […]
South African writer Zukiswa Wanner emerged onto the South African literary space in 2006 with her thought provoking book The Madams. It was about a character who is black and opts to have a white maid (in Kenya we call them house helps) and the drama that goes with it all. It was an insightful […]
A website for a writer is a very important tool as it is the one stop shop for the people who want to engage with the author. If done well it can be a very valuable marketing tool for one’s books. With this in mind South African author Angela Makholwa has joined the club of […]
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