James Murua

For the Writing Africa Podcast Episode 36, we say goodbye to Kenyan publisher Henry Chakava as we speak about awards, books, and events around African letters. We also have an exclusive interview with legendary academic Carol Boyce Davies. Remember that you can support the work we do archiving African and Black literature via PayPal, Mobile Money, or Patreon starting at $3 a month. For more information please click here.

We say goodbye to Trinidad and Tobago author Michael Anthony, talk about the NBO LitFest, as well as the awards that have been given in August. We also debut novelist Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu. Remember that you can support the work we do archiving African and Black literature via PayPal, Mobile Money, or Patreon starting at $3 a month. For more information please click here.

We chat with graphic novelist Chief Nyamweya on how he got into writing graphic novels and the Trust novel which incorporates blockchain in the storytelling. Get your copy of the book ⁠by clicking here⁠. Remember that you can support the work we do archiving African and Black literature via PayPal, Mobile Money, or Patreon starting at $3 a month. For more information please click here.

In episode 33, we say goodbye to Good Micere Mugo and Kole Omotoso, and talk about what has been happening is the awards and festivals in African and Black literature scene.

Transition Egyptian Novelist Hamdy Abu Golayyel has passed away Egyptian Novelist Hamdy Abu Golayyel passed away on Sunday, June 11, 2023. Exhibition Litafrika: Artistic Encounters II exhibition for Zurich organised by Swiss partners Litar Foundation and Strauhof Zurich. Curator Zukiswa Wanner gives a tour here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c1_lcyLnuk&t=95s&pp=ygUJbGl0YWZyaWth Festivals Abuja Literary and Arts Festival 2023 for September, Ake Festival 2023 for November, and Feira do Livro de Maputo 2023 kicks off on July 27. Awards Ananda Devi wins Grand Prix de l’Héroïne Madame Figaro 2023, Gracia Mwamba and Feranmi Ariyo win Evaristo Prize for African Poetry 2023, Reem Gaafar wins Island Prize 2023, and Paterson Joseph wins UK’s RSL Christopher Bland Prize 2023.

Welcome to episode 29 of the Writing Africa Podcast. It’s a blockbuster one as we say goodbye to author, poet, playwright, and academic Ama Ata Aidoo and South African writer, political analyst, journalist, and broadcaster Eusebius McKaiser. We will be chatting about the prize the Kendeka Prize, Arablit Short Story Prize, and the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival (BCLF) Short Fiction Story Contest as well as we recommend that you read Caribbean books this Read Caribbean Month. We have an interview this week. We caught up with Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2022. Apologies for the quality of the interview sound. The interview was conducted in a corner at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Thank you so much Frankfurter Buchmesse for making the interview happen.

For the first time in a decade, we have a new identity in Writing Africa and we explain a bit about why this was so. We also talk about the winners of the Dylan Thomas Prize, Nebula Awards, Pulitzer Prize Prix Orange du Livre en Afrique as well as those shortlisted for the Island Prize. We also talk about some festivals like the 72 heures du livre Conakry which ran in April and the forthcoming Mogadishu Book Fair, Calabash Festival, and the Ake Festival.

Welcome to episode 27 of the James Murua Literary Podcast. Today’s guests of Khadija Abdalla Bajaber won the Greywolf Africa Prize in 2018 and went on to write House of Rust. In this episode, we chat to the Mombasa-born and bred writer about winning the Graywolf Prize and how it changed her life, her writing influences, and loads more. This podcast has been supported by Goethe-Institute Kenya as part of the "Kenya Writes" series. Enjoy.

Welcome to episode 26 of the James Murua Literary Podcast. Today’s guest is Zimbabwe-born, USA-based Munashe Kaseke, the writer of the debut short story collection Send Her Back and Other Stories as well as the founder of independent publisher Mukana Press. In our episode, she speaks about her writing, her journey as a publisher, and how she hopes to navigate the markets both in the USA and on the continent. Enjoy.

The Kenya Writes guest for today is Kisumu-based lawyer and author Patrick Ochieng who was shortlisted for the 2010 Golden Baobab Prize and the NALIF Writing Competition in 2017. He has been published in Kikwetu, Munyori, Brittle Paper, and other literary publications. He lives in Kisumu, Kenya, with his family. His debut book for children is Playing a Dangerous Game, published by Norton Young Readers. We talk about his entry into the writing business, why he writes for children, what inspired his book Playing a Dangerous Game, and some of his forthcoming projects. Enjoy.

The Kenya Writes guest for today is Mombasa-based writer and festival organiser Lorna Likiza whose debut literary offering is the children’s book Oi Gets Lost. She tells us their journey to her first book, working with her Ukrainian illustrator, about her festival the Heroe Book Fair, and about the writing scene in her adopted town of Mombasa.

Fatma Shafii is a Swahili writer who likes to write about human behaviour and emerging issues affecting the continent based in Mombasa. Her poems, fiction and nonfiction have been published in various platforms including creativewritersleague.co.keand the online literary magazine Lolwe. She is the founder of SHIWAKI (Shirika La Waandishi wa Kiswahili), an association of writers of the Swahili language. She is also one of the authors of Water Birds on the Lakeshore, the anthology of Afro Young Adult fiction, published in French, English and Kiswahili. This podcast has been supported by Goethe-Institute Kenya as part of the "Kenya Writes" series.

This week’s podcast, repurposed from the livestream that happened on November 25, 2020 featuring Mariette Tchamda Mbunpi and Annette Michael. The podcast is a production of James Murua Literary in cooperation with Frankfurter Buchmesse with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office. Enjoy.

This week’s podcast, repurposed from the livestream that happened on Thursday, November 18, 2020 featuring Ondjaki and Philipp Khabo Koepsell. The podcast is a production by James Murua Literary in cooperation with Frankfurter Buchmesse with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office. Enjoy

This week’s podcast, repurposed from the Thursday, November 12 livestream, features Maaza Mengiste and Antje Rávik Strubel. The podcast is a production by James Murua Literary in cooperation with Frankfurter Buchmesse with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office. This is the second part of the podcast. Enjoy

Welcome to episode 20 of the James Murua Literary Podcast. This week’s podcast, repurposed from the Thursday, November 12 Livestream, features Maaza Mengiste and Antje Rávik Strubel. The podcast is a production by James Murua Literary in cooperation with Frankfurter Buchmesse with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office. Enjoy

Abubakar Adam Ibrahim is a Nigerian writer and journalist who has written the short story collection "The Whispering Trees" and the award-winning novel "Season of Crimson Blossoms." In this podcast, we talk about his newest short story collection "Dreams and Assorted Nightmares" forthcoming from Masobe Books and publishing in Nigeria,

Abubakar Adam Ibrahim is a Nigerian writer and journalist who has written the short story collection "The Whispering Trees" and the award-winning novel "Season of Crimson Blossoms." In this podcast, we talk about his newest short story collection "Dreams and Assorted Nightmares" forthcoming from Masobe Books and publishing in Nigeria,

Ayesha Harruna Attah is a Ghanaian-born Senegal-based writer of the books Harmattan Rain (2008), Saturday's Shadow (2015), and The Hundred Wells of Salaga (2015). Ayesha's newest title "The Deep Blue Between," which was published on October 15, 2020, is a Young Adult offering that could be considered a sequel to The Hundred Wells of Salaga. In this interview, we speak about her move to write for Young Adults, talks in-depth about the new book, and speaks about what it takes to write historical fiction.

Peter Kimani is an award-winning Kenyan author and journalist. He works across a broad spectrum of genres, from fiction to non-fiction, poetry, and plays. His latest novel, Dance of the Jakaranda, was published in New York in February 2017, to great critical acclaim. It’s a New York Times Editors’ Choice, among other accolades. On this podcast, we chat with the Kenyan about his newest book and how it came to be, why he needed to go abroad before he finally got a local publisher, and the new anthology "Nairobi Noir" published by Akashic Books earlier in the year.