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 Ibua Manuscript Project reminiscent of the legendary Kwani Manuscript Project of yesteryear. It hopes to discover and develop exceptional new voices from East Africa, collaborating with the creative teaching platform Saseni! Saseni! supports the production of contemporary African fiction having collaborated with Huza Press and Jahazi Press to produce their anthologies.
Just like with Kwani, this project is driven by Billy Kahora and other creative writing teachers from Saseni!. This team looked through the Thirty-seven submissions and selected a longlist of eight manuscripts that included;
- Cuthbert Magara (Uganda)
- David Ngumi (Kenya)
- Doreen Anyango (Kenya)
- Gladwell Pamba (Kenya)
- Gordon Anjili (Kenya)
- Muthoni Wa Gichuru (Kenya)
- Owen Mushabe (Uganda)
- Peter Ngila Njeri (Kenya)
Those longlisted will be invited to participate in an in-person workshop with support in refining their manuscripts for the final selection round led by Billy Kahora.. They will be joined by a select few additional authors whose manuscripts, though not making the longlist, held promise. Beyond the workshop, the longlisted authors will benefit from one-on-one editorial engagements and a three-month online program focused on craft development and providing them with invaluable editorial guidance.
The final selection process will be overseen by a jury, to be announced later. The winning manuscript and two runners-up will be proudly published by Ibua Publishing in 2025 in collaboration with Saseni!
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