The International Literature Festival celebrating Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah will be hosted by Femrite in Kyambogo University, Kampala from November 22 – 24, 2023.
Author and academic Abdulrazak Gurnah was declared literature laureate at the Nobel Prize in 2021; he is the first from East Africa to win the coveted award. The Zanzibar-born UK-based writer has ten novels and many short stories and essays to his name. His novels focus on the effects of colonialism, refugee and immigrant experiences and wars, and displacement across the world.
The International Literature Festival in honour of the Nobel Laureate is set to be feted at the Kyambogo University, Kampala from Wednesday. The festival is organised by the Ugandan Women Writers Association aka Femrite alongside the host university and the Pan African Writers Association.
The event theme is ‘Celebrating the life and works of Abdulrazak Gurnah for the future of African literature’. It will highlight Abdulrazak Gurnah’s life and literary achievements, migration’s influence on African literature, literature in African languages, and the pivotal role of technology in the literary realm. A highlight will be keynote addresses by Prof Tina Steiner of Stellenbosch University and Dr Godwin Siundu of Nairobi University.
Alongside the celebration of the laureate, there will be four book launches: Kamaliloka Lawino, a translation of Song of Lawino into Lumasaba by Lucy Sophie Lunyolo; Nalule’s Travels and Adventures by Helen Liebling; When We Heard Echoes by Taban el Tablaz Nassur; and Mourning Glory by Egara Kabaji.
Leave a Reply