Heroe Book Fair 2022, to happen from March 22 – 26, revealed their theme as well as Soma Nami Books as their official bookstore, on October 28, 2022.
Heroe Book Fair was founded by Kenyan writer Lorna Likiza to bring together Anglophone, Francophone and German speaking writers, poets, publishers and literary enthusiasts from Africa and the Black Diaspora in a celebration of their literary works and achievements. The first edition was supported by the Alliance Française Mombasa, The French Embassy in Kenya, Goethe Institut Nairobi, Hekaya Arts Initiative, Culture Africa, The Swiss Embassy in Kenya and The Belgian Embassy in Kenya. Keynote speakers were Mombasa-based published poet and civic leader, Salma “Salummy” Abdulatif and Rwandan-French writer, Scholastique Mukasonga. It was hosted at the Alliance Française, Mombasa on March 22-26, 2021.
The team at the fair are already working hard to ensure that the edition for 2022 is just as successful. They announced the dates as March 22 -26, 2022 with the theme, “Emancipation” with the following description;
The simplest definition given by Wikipedia of emancipation is “to free from restraint.” What are the things holding people of African descent back? How do they affect how we work, our views on life, our arts, our heritage? By choosing the theme emancipation for the 2nd edition of Heroe book fair, we are looking to encourage conversations that focus on ways to break free from the things that hold us back.
Indeed, the Covid-19 pandemic has been one of those things that has caused us limitations. Creating in this time has not been a smooth endeavor for most of us. And yet, the restrictions were necessary to curb the spread of the virus. How have Writers, Poets and Publishers managed to keep going?
Not only will we be addressing freedom from mental slavery, neocolonialism, patriarchy and the likes, but also how the pandemic has transformed the literary scene. Do Writers, Poets and Publishers of African descent feel this sense of freedom while creating? This and more are some of the questions we will attempt to answer in our discussions.
They also announced that Soma Nami Books will be the official Bookstore partner for the 2022 edition. Soma Nami Books is a Nairobi-based book hub founded by Muthoni Muiruri and Wendy Njoroge, two literary activists and enthusiasts whose passion stems from their commitment to spotlighting and centering African narratives and amplifying African stories, ideas, and aspirations. Soma Nami Books, which launched recently, runs an African-based bookstore with a justified bias towards stocking books written by people from the African continent, the African diaspora and Women, a Book Café forum geared towards community engagement, a Book Club and a Book Box Subscription Service.
If you wish to participate at as an exhibitor, charges for a vending space during the fair are 4,000kshs with own tent and 5,000kshs without own tent. The amount covers the entire 5 days of the event. Payment is via MPesa Buy Goods option, Till no: 9073287
Leave a Reply