Category: Kenya
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Soma Nami African Book Fair 2025 program out now
The program for the Soma Nami African Book Fair 2025, to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from August 7 to 10, 2025, is now available. Soma Nami Books was founded by Muthoni Muiruri and Wendy Njoroge with their first branch in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2021, followed by another in 2024. In 2023, they introduced the…
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CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa 2025 longlist announced
The CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa 2025 longlist, the second edition of the award, was announced on Thursday, July 24, 2025 The CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa recognises the publisher of the best African fiction or non-fiction title. It is open to writers from all over the African continent, with submissions reviewed by…
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Sankofa Book Awards Kenya 2025 finalists announced
The Sankofa Book Awards Kenya 2025 finalists were announced in Nairobi, Kenya, on Saturday, July 19, 2025. The Sankofa Book Awards Kenya were created to recognize and celebrate African authors who promote historical memory, cultural identity, and literary innovation in 2015. The term Sankofa, derived from the Akan language of Ghana, means: “Go back and…
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Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor: Re-Worlding Africa: Imagination, Time & Sculpting The Future
A keynote address by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor at the Africa Literature Association Conference 2025, hosted in Nairobi, Kenya on June 26, 2025. The Africa Literature Association Conference was hosted for the first time on Kenyan soil from June 25 – 28, 2025. It was an academic conference that brought together many scholars in African literature…
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Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies Conference 2025
The Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies Conference 2025 was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from July 1 – 5, 2025. The Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies is an association of academics, practitioners, and writers. ACLALS assists and promotes the study and research of Commonwealth literature and languages. It organises seminars and workshops,…
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Macondo Literary Festival 2025 international guests revealed
The Macondo Literary Festival 2025 announced some of the international guests flying into Nairobi for the shindig happening from September 19 – 21, 2025. The Macondo Literary Festival, organised by the Macondo Book Society, hosts panels, readings, performances of poetry and other art forms, and an epic closing party in Nairobi since its first edition…
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Iris Mwanza to headline Soma Nami’s African Book Fair 2025
Iris Mwanza is the headliner of the Soma Nami African Book Fair 2025 to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from August 7 – 10, 2025. Soma Nami Books was founded by Muthoni Muiruri and Wendy Njoroge with their first branch in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2021, followed by another in 2024. They built their name as…
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African Literature Association conference 2025 hosted in Nairobi
The African Literature Association conference 2025 was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from June 25 – 28, 2025. The African Literature Association promotes the study and appreciation of African literature and culture, open to scholars, teachers, and writers globally. It facilitates understanding and appreciation of African works of art and literature by a global audience. It…
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A snapshot of the Nairobi LitFest 2025
The Nairobi LitFest 2025, with the theme “alternative knowledge systems,” was hosted in Nairobi from June 26 – 28, 2025. Here is a recap of activities in the fourth edition of the festival. The Nairobi LitFest, a celebration of public libraries as spaces for art, culture, and knowledge production, was first hosted virtually by the…
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Safal-Cornell Kiswahili Prize 2024 winners announced
The Safal Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature 2024 winners were announced in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Thursday, July 3, 2025. The Safal Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature celebrates writing in poetry and prose in the Kiswahili language. It is supported by Safal Group, through its subsidiaries Mabati Rolling Mills of Kenya and…
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David Maillu’s After 430 launches in Nairobi
David Maillu’s 1974 book After 430 was reintroduced to the Kenyan public with a series of events in Nairobi on June 28 and July 4, 2025. Mvua Press introduced the novel The NaiRoberry Cocktail by Ciku Kimani-Mwaniki in an afternoon event in December 2024, which incorporated elements we rarely see in Kenyan writing, like live…
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Ibua Novel Manuscript Project 2024 winners announced
Doreen Anyango and Gladwell Pamba were revealed to be the Ibua Novel Manuscript Project 2024 winners in Kampala, Uganda, on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Ibua Publishing is a Uganda-based publishing house committed to providing writers with the tools to grow their craft, improve editorial quality, and bring it to a wider audience since it was…
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Safal-Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature 2024 shortlists announced
The Safal-Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature 2024 shortlists were announced in Nairobi, Kenya, on Thursday, June 26, 2025. The Safal Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature celebrates writing in poetry and prose in the Kiswahili language. It is supported by Safal Group, through its subsidiaries Mabati Rolling Mills of Kenya and ALAF Tanzania, in…
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Natasha Brown, Troy Onyango on International Booker Prize 2026 jury
Natasha Brown and Troy Onyango are on the International Booker Prize 2026 jury announced in London, UK, on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. The International Booker Prize is awarded annually for the finest single work of fiction from around the world translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland in the previous year. Founded…
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David Maillu’s “After 4:30” to make June 28 return
David Maillu’s legendary book After 4:30 will be reintroduced to the world with an event in Nairobi, Kenya, on Saturday, June 28, 2025. Kenyan writer and publisher David Maillu’s 1974 book After 4:30 unravels the problems of urban housewives, office secretaries, and sex workers. Told in African traditional poetic or song-style, provocative and bluntly-critical it…