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 Books Consortium Accessibility Awards at the London Book Fair in 2019.

While they have participated in Kenya’s premier book fair in the past, in 2023 they sponsored a hugely successful “Rights Café” at the Nairobi International Book Fair 2023. Kenyan writers engaged with international agents with some finally signing one or selling language rights. Due to that engagement, Scola Moraa’s debut poetry collection Beautiful Mess is now in Italian.

eKitabu unveiled a new app that allows readers to listen to audiobooks from African writers at the Alliance Française Nairobi on Saturday. It was introduced with the novels Whispers From Vera by Goretti Kyomuhendo, 3 Bolts From The Blue by Lesalon Kasaine, Cocktails From The Savannah by Ciku Kimani, and the poetry collection Beautiful Mess by Scola Moraa. The event included a panel where the writers chatted about their work and motivations moderated by James Murua. The audience also met Diana Wangari and Bill Amira who voiced the books while Sarah Kitonga and Jante Juma of Orature Collective gave dramatic readings.

There was also a chat on copyright conducted by Sharon Wata, the deputy director in charge of training at the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) which went down well with the many writers in the audience. There was also cake. It’s a Kenyan book launch so of course cake was involved.

The app is currently only on the Google Play store, check it out here, and eKitabu promises to have an Apple version available in a few weeks.

Here are images from the launch courtesy of eKitabu

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