Storymoja Festival 2016 for Ghana this year; not Kenya

The popular Storymoja Festival 2016 will not be hosted in Nairobi, Kenya this year. The event will be happening in Accra, Ghana from 21-25 September instead.

The Storymoja Festival started as an event of friends and family in 2007 and grew into a cannot-ignore-festival on the African scene. As one who had observed the growth from its humble beginnings there was a lot of pride that my country was now hosting an internationally recognised literary festival. Even with this it had its flaws but I am yet to hear of a festival that was perfect for everyone; such events simply do not exist.

This year, the festival shall be happening outside Kenya for the first time in its history. The Storymoja team signed a pact with Afetsi Awoonor, son of late Prof. Kofi Awoonor – the Ghanaian author and poet who was killed by Al-Shabaab terrorists in 2013 during the Westgate Mall crisis in Nairobi, Kenya –  in February. The deal would have the literary and creative arts festival hosted in Ghana from the 21 to 25 September 2016, at the W.E.B Dubois Centre in Accra.

There is an intense program happening there with John Dumelo, Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Afetsi Awoonor, Dr Neal Hall, Kwame Dawes and many more as guest artists. We shall be keeping you abreast of this festival as it is getting closer to the event.

So its official, the Storymoja Festival shall not be happening in Kenya this year but in the West of the continent. So what happens those who haven’t had the information about the change of venue at this late date? So what are your options if you want to attend a literary festival in East Africa around that time?

The five best options right now include;

1. Nairobi International Book Fair 2016 which will be hosted on 21st to 25th September 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya. The same dates that Storymoja Festival happen this year.
2. Nyanza Literary Festival 2016 is a new festival which will be happening from 26-27 August 2016 in Kisumu, Kenya.
3. Hargeysa International Book Fair 2016 is set to happen from 23 to 28 July 2016 in Hargeisa, Somaliland. This festival will feature writers from all over the continent with those from Ghana as that is this year’s focus country.
4. The Writivism Festival 2016 which is happening from 22 – 28 August in Kampala, Uganda is another great option. The organisers have already made plans for you who wants to be their guests with amazing events and great accomodation packages.
5. Babishai Niwe Poetry Festival 2016 which happens from 24-26^th August also in Kampala.