The new Moto Books and Arts Festival will be running in Nairobi from April 21-24, 2022. The festival theme is Firing up African Literature.
A new literary festival, the Moto Books and Arts Festival, was unveiled to the public on February 17, 2022. It will bring together local and international authors, publishers, illustrators, booksellers, artists, and brands to showcase their work and share emerging literature trends. The new initiative is brought to you by HalfPriced Books in partnership with the Village Market Mall.
“The Moto Books and Arts Festival is an initiative that will help to connect like-minded people, who are enthusiastic about books and the creative scene, and who also appreciate the hidden gems in the world of art and theatre,” said Mercy Kibira, HalfPriced Books Limited Managing Director, ahead of the MOTO festivals.
The celebrations will include an exhibition that will provide top publishing brands, authors and book dealers the opportunity to showcase outstanding books, art and culture. One of the biggest draws at the festival will be acclaimed Ghanaian writer and blogger Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah who is currently riding high on her debut book The Sex Lives of African Women.
The exhibitors will be drawn from publishing houses, bookshops, licensing and intellectual rights agencies, learning institutions, illustrators, editors, authors, online content creators and media houses. Other highlights of the event will be a master class hosted by local authors.
A charity books drive has also been planned as part of the festival to equip libraries across schools in Kenya, an initiative set to increase literacy levels among school going children.
The books drive dubbed “Adopt-a-library” Challenge will be spearheaded by Village Market and Maktabas, a non-profit organization that gathers, ships, and distributes unwanted and repurposed books from different parts of the world to less privileged learners and schools in Africa. Maktabas has distributed more than 100,000 books and equipped 128 Libraries in Kenya in the last five years. Maktabas CEO, Gerald Mbugua says they target to distribute more than 20,000 Books and equip 30 Libraries in 2022. The local drop-off point for books will be at Village Market.
“We are participating in the MOTO Books and Arts Festival as a strategic partner to advance literacy levels in the marginalized areas by stocking libraries and fostering strategic partnerships that will grow our impact,” he says.
The World Book and Copyright Day was initiated by UNESCO on 23rd April 1995 as a worldwide celebration of books and reading and is marked in more than 100 countries around the globe.
It is aimed at encouraging children and young people to read for pleasure through its work with authors, illustrators, publishers, bookshops and libraries.
Commenting on the MOTO Books and Arts Festival, Village Market representative said: “We are honoured to be the host for this important festival that will go a long way in boosting the growth of literature and love of books in Kenya. With education being one of our social responsibility pillars, we will continue to be part of initiatives aimed at enhancing the reading culture among children and the youth. African Literature has become a cornerstone of the global literature, it is time to support local authors become the best they can ever be.”
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