Dennis Mugaa book launches in Nairobi

Dennis Mugaa’s debut short story collection Half Portraits Under Water launched at Cheche Books, Nairobi on Thursday, September 19, 2024.

In the last few years, Dennis Mugaa has quietly built a reputation for producing outstanding work in the Kenyan and African literary spaces. The former Prestige Bookstore employee started learning his trade at workshops like the Makena Onjerika Nairobi Writing Academy and Goethe-Institut’s #AfroYoungAdult before doing a Master of Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. We started seeing him on the K & L Prize for African Literature shortlist, Afritondo Prize longlist and the Isele Prize shortlist, and he was named A Long House Rajat Neogy Editorial Fellow. He has been featured in anthologies like Digital Bedbugs edited by Makena Onjerika and Let Us Conspire and Other Short Stories edited by Billy Kahora.

Dennis Mugaa’s debut short story collection Half Portraits Under Water was first picked up by Nigerian publisher Masobe Books in 2023. The new publication has ten loosely interlinked stories that explore themes of love, loss, and the interconnected nature of human experiences.

The book’s East African rights were picked up by Jahazi Press, who have been doing amazing work recently and unveiled at Cheche Books, Nairobi on Thursday, September 19. The event with a full house, suggesting the writer’s popularity, was masterfully moderated by Mohamed Abdishukri. The writer’s family was led by his mother Florence Kajuju, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, and many others in the packed audience. The evening included conversations on the stories, the writing method, and readings from the newest writer.

The event ended with cake, Kenyan book events all seem to have cake and a lengthy book-signing session. The new book can be accessed from good stores in your city.

Here are some more images from that book launch courtesy of Jahazi Press.

Please support our work at Writing Africa with a one-off donation on Mobile Money or PayPal, or regularly on Patreon starting at US$3 a month by clicking here.