Writing Africa: Archiving African and Black Literature

Category: Kenya

  • Macondo LitFest 2024, Nairobi International Book Fair 2024 for Nairobi

    Macondo LitFest 2024, Nairobi International Book Fair 2024 for Nairobi

    The second half of September has a raft of literary activities from book launches to literary and book fairs. Here are some you don’t want to miss. Nairobi has always been one of the most happening literary cities with many activities throughout the year. In September, the city goes into a literary frenzy with organisers…

  • Book Digest: Edwidge Danticat, Gaël Faye, Foluso Agbaje, Billy Kahora

    Book Digest: Edwidge Danticat, Gaël Faye, Foluso Agbaje, Billy Kahora

    We wrap up book news for our readers in our regular Book Digest segment with books from Edwidge Danticat, Gaël Faye, Foluso Agbaje, and Billy Kahora. We’re Alone by Edwidge Danticat Publisher:  Graywolf PressDate:  September 3, 2024Genre:  Nonfiction, EssaysLanguage:  EnglishWhere to find it:  Graywolf Edwidge Danticat Edwidge Danticat is the author of several books, including…

  • Kenyan Readathon 2024 event for September 14

    Kenyan Readathon 2024 event for September 14

    The official Kenyan Readathon 2024 event will be hosted at the McMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi on Saturday, September 14, 2024. In 2020, literary activist Lexa Lubanga unveiled the “Kenya Readathon” initiative to celebrate writing from the East African nation. It was a virtual series to encourage readers to promote Kenyan authors with their work as…

  • Let Us Conspire, Bald Dandelions anthologies launch in Nairobi

    Let Us Conspire, Bald Dandelions anthologies launch in Nairobi

    The two anthologies Let Us Conspire and Other Short Stories and Bald Dandelions With Their Wishes Blown Off launched at Cheche Books, Nairobi on August 15, 2024. Cheche Books was the site of launching the two anthologies Let Us Conspire and Other Short Stories (Jahazi Press) and Bald Dandelions With Their Wishes Blown Off (Huza…

  • Kistrech International Poetry Festival 2024 starts September 27

    Kistrech International Poetry Festival 2024 starts September 27

    The Kistrech International Poetry Festival 2024 runs in venues around Kenya from September 27 – October 4, 2024. The Kistrech International Poetry Festival was founded to promote poetry and cultural exchange between local and foreign artists by Dr Christopher Okemwa in 2013. The annual festival features spoken-word, rap, song, poetry reading, oral poetry, music instrument-playing,…

  • Kisumu Literacy Day for August 31

    Kisumu Literacy Day for August 31

    Kisumu Literacy Day will be hosted at the Kenyan National Library in Kisumu on Saturday, August 31, 2024. The Kenya National Library Service is known for its work in providing library services in its many libraries across the country. The beloved service has announced that it will host the “Kisumu Literacy Day” in the city…

  • Book Digest: Biyi Bandele, Shirlene Obuobi, Ana Paula Maia, Munira Hussein

    Book Digest: Biyi Bandele, Shirlene Obuobi, Ana Paula Maia, Munira Hussein

    We wrap up book news for our readers in our regular Book Digest segment with books from Biyi Bandele, Shirlene Obuobi, Ana Paula Maia, and an anthology from Nairobi. Seeing Our Sisters: Anthology by Munira Hussein, Resh (Rehema Zuberi), Joanna Cockerline, Ellah Hallets, Hellen Mwololo and Jacque Nzioka (TJ) Publisher:  IndependentDate:  July 20, 2024Genre:  Fiction,…

  • Macondo Literary Festival 2024 guests revealed.

    Macondo Literary Festival 2024 guests revealed.

    The guests who will feature at the Macondo Literary Festival 2024 at the Kenya National Theatre, Nairobi from September 20 – 22, 2024 have been announced. 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…

  • Soma Nami’s African Book Fair 2024 program unveiled

    Soma Nami’s African Book Fair 2024 program unveiled

    The program for Soma Nami Books’ African Book Fair 2024, to be hosted in Nairobi, Kenya from August 6 – 11, 2024 is now public. The African Book Fair 2023 was first brought to the Kenyan public when it was hosted at the MacMillan Library, Nairobi last year. The main draw was the moniker “Kenya’s…

  • Ibua Manuscript Project 2024 longlist announced

    Ibua Manuscript Project 2024 longlist announced

    The longlist for the Ibua Manuscript Project 2024 was announced in Kampala, Uganda on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. Ibua Publishing, founded in 2018, 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. In September 2023, they initiated the…

  • Kenya’s National Read Aloud 2024 for July 12

    Kenya’s National Read Aloud 2024 for July 12

    Kenya’s National Read Aloud 2024 will be hosted in schools around the country on Thursday, July 12, 2024. On June 16, 2014, the Storymoja Read Aloud campaign was started to get kids around the country to read from the same text while spawning the next generation of readers. Since then, the annual activity has brought…

  • Macondo Literary Festival 2024 for September

    Macondo Literary Festival 2024 for September

    The Macondo Literary Festival 2024 will be hosted at the Kenya National Theatre in Nairobi from September 20 – 22, 2024. The theme is “The Sea is History.” The Macondo Literary Festival is a creation of the author Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor and Anja Bengelstorff-founded Macondo Book Society. The word “Macondo,” comes from the fictional place…

  • A snapshot of the NBO LitFest 2024

    A snapshot of the NBO LitFest 2024

    The NBO LitFest 2024, brought to you by Book Bunk and the Hay Festival, was hosted in Nairobi, Kenya from June 27 – 30, 2024. Book Bunk first hosted the virtual festival NBO LitFest, anchored in Nairobi’s public libraries with stories and ideas emerging from Nairobi and other regional spaces, in 2021. Designed as a…

  • eKitabu audiobooks launch in Nairobi

    eKitabu audiobooks launch in Nairobi

    Goretti Kyomuhendo, Lesalon Kasaine, Ciku Kimani, and Scola Moraa launched audiobook versions of their novels at the Alliance Française, Nairobi on Saturday, June 29, 2024. Since 2012, eKitabu has done valuable work to increase accessibility and lower the cost of content for quality education in Kenya. For their efforts, they were feted at the Accessible…

  • Soma Nami’s African Book Fair 2024 starts August 6.

    Soma Nami’s African Book Fair 2024 starts August 6.

    The African Book Fair 2024, organised by Soma Nami Books, will be hosted at the MacMillan Memorial Library, Nairobi, Kenya from August 6 – 11, 2024. Soma Nami Books, a bookshop founded by Muthoni Muiruri and Wendy Njoroge, launched in Nairobi, Kenya in 2021. It has been hard at work giving their Nairobi audience much…