Tag Archives: Doreen Baingana

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Caine Prize workshop underlines Uganda’s rise in literature

Caine Prize workshop participants: Pam Nichols, Rotimi Babatunde, Michael Phoya, Davina Kawuma, Abubakar Ibrahim,
Melissa Myambo, Veronique Tadjo, Elnathan John, Harriet Anena and Billy Kahora.

I just recently saw this lovely post from the people from the Caine Prize where they were hosting some of their 2012 and 2013 shortlisted writers to a workshop in Uganda not too long ago. 2012′s gang included Rotimi Babatunde (winner), Billy Kahora, Stanley Kenani and Melissa Myambo. From the class of 2013 there was Abubakar Ibrahim, Elnathan John, Davina Kawuma, Wazha Lopang, Hellen Nyana and Michael Phoya.

After the end of workshop a collection of short stories, A Memory This Size and other stories, was produced which is co-published in 7 African countries.

I am happy to see this happy kind of activity in the pearl of Africa. Our brothers and sisters from that part of the world have not been spared from that “literary desert curse” that Taban Lo Liyong spat of the region. But the country has been more than a desert. The old school of writers included Okot P’Bitek who is very famous for his Song of Lawino poem. The new school of beautiful writers include Doreen Baingana (2006 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, best first book, Africa, and an AWP Short Fiction Award for Tropical Fish) and Monica Arac de Nyeko (winner of the caine prize 2007 for Jambula Tree). Also in that list is Jackee Budesta Batanda (Dance with Me won the 2003 Commonwealth Short Story Competition regional award) and Nick Twinamatsiko for his book The Chwezi Code.

The countries writers haven’t rested on their laurels but have quietly been working on improving their capacity to write books that will amaze. The most interesting initiatives coming from that part of the world as far as I am concerned include Femrite, the Beverley Nambozo Poetry Prize and Writivism.

Femrite is an NGO based in Kampala, Uganda, born in 1995 with a focus on developing and publishing women writers in Uganda so that the world can see just how good the next generation can. They have done very well for themselves.

The Beverley Nambozo Poetry Prize was started in 2009 by Kampalan Nambozo to celebrate outstanding poetry and has gone on to do quite well.

The newest initiative is Writivism which was born in Kampala last year and has had some success with local newspaper The Monitor supporting the initiative. The initiative has grown in the new year to include several other countries including Kenya, Naija, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

With Jennifer Makumbi winning the Kwani Manuscript Project, a new literary prize for unpublished fiction by Africans, for her novel The Kintu Saga, you can tell that things are really looking up.

>> Extra reading

:: Uganda’s ‘Literary Desert’ is Back in Bloom

:: Understanding History: Top Six Ugandan Literature

:: How Uganda’s female writers found their voice

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Doreen Baingana and Tony Mochama for Miles Morland Writing Scholarships

Doreen Baingana

The Miles Morland Scholarship 2013 recipients have been announced with Doreen Baingana, Tony Mochama and Percy Zvomuya getting the nod.

The scholarships awarded by the Miles Morland Foundation were announced at the Caine Prize earlier this year when that American dude won it. The recipients receive a grant of £18,000 to be paid monthly over 2014 to allow them to write a full-length book.

The judges included Ellah Allfrey who was deputy editor of Granta and an editor at Cape as Chair. The other two judges were Nadifa Mohamed, author of Black Mamba Boy and Orchard of Lost Souls, and Femi Terry, 2010 winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing with his story Stick-Fighting Days.

Doreen Baingana from Uganda who became famous for her short story collection Tropical Fish is the most familiar name of the winners. She is currently one of the judges for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. She proposes to write a fictional account of the life of Alice Lakwena, the leader of the Holy Spirit Movement in Uganda in the 1980s.

Tony Mochama who was for many years the resident party animal in the Standard Newspaper in Kenya has been in fine fettle in the last few years. He was earlier in the year number three in the trio of winners of the Burt Prize 2013 for his book Meet the Omtita’s that launched recently in town. He intends to write a book set in Nairobi in 2063, a hundred years after independence, as seen through the eyes of an 88 year old man .

The other recipient Percy Zvomuya from Zimbabwe intends to write a biography of Robert Mugabe.

There are two Reserves who will take up the Scholarships if any of the three candidates fails to observe the schedule of returning 10,000 words a month to the fund.

First Reserve is Juliet Kushaba from Uganda; Second reserve is Stanley Gazemba from Kenya.

Congratulations to all the winners.

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Barbara Kimenye’s passing is just sad

Barbara Kimenye

I woke up this morning to the news that Barbara Kimenye the author of the the Moses Series of children’s books is dead. Very sad. There is hope for children’s literature still though.

The Guardian yesterday reported that Barbara Kimenye passed on at the age of 82. It doesn’t stated how the grand dame of children’s passed but if she had any input into her passing there were probably some naughty kids who had tried to save her from some evil kidnappers. They would have succeeded in saving her but the kidnappers who had stached her on the school farm would have left her be rained on and she got a killer disease. In spite of seeking all the help they could even from a pen pal from a far away land she would have passed on.

Since she stopped unleashing children’s books so prolifically one has to wonder where the next generation of authors for kids are. They are there. The who world decided to follow the children market when JK Rowling stumbled in this Harry Potter thing. So many international celebs have them with Madonna’s five books for children quickly coming to mind.

Its not just the international publishing market place that is flush with books for kids. Locally Phoenix Publishers is the home of so many titles that when I passed by recently I was a bit inundated with the number of titles available. There is hope. There are even several well known names in literature doing books for kids. Muthoni Likimani has a few titles as does Doreen Baingana. Even Zukiswa Wanner who has recently unveiled that new short story Behind the Shadows has a few in the pipeline.

There is still hope for children’s literature. Barbara Kimenye would be proud.