The University of East Anglia appointed Tsitsi Dangarembga the International Chair of Creative Writing in 2020 to deliver a program of literary events, classes and workshops. One of these workshops was an East African affair with writers from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda writing in English and Kiswahili run by Tsitsi Dangarembga, Jean McNeil, Zukiswa Wanner, and Elias Mutani in July 2022.
From this workshop, stories were whittled down and the best were put in a new Paivapo Publishers anthology The Heart Is A Bastard edited in English by Zukiswa Wanner. The Kiswahili version of this book edited by Elias Mutani is called Moyo ni Mwanaharamu. Those whose work feature are Fatma Shafii, Maureen Waithaka, Julius M Chiwaya, Joanita Kente Tushabe, Noella Moshi, Nyasili Atetwe, Ruth Nyadzua Mwangome, Sia Chami, Precious Colette Kemigisha, Gladwell Pemba, Jibril Adam, Misigo Daniel Mwanzu, and Charlie Muhumuza. The anthology launched at a ceremony at the Goethe-Institute on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
I spent time with members of the Soma Nami Book on Saturday, September 25, 2021.
Soma Nami is a bookshop that exclusively sells books written by African writers founded by Muthoni Muiruri and Wendy Njoroge that opened in the Nairobi in August. It also has an monthly book club where members come and discuss the book of the month. The book of the month for September was my debut The Madams (2006) and I engaged with members of the book club on what the book means for Kenyan readers. Here are pictures from that event;
Soma nami Book Club meetingSoma nami Book Club meeting