Notes from the lockdown

Writers in Africa, sikiliza tafadhali. Boredom is the mother of invention. I hear from people that they suffer from writer's block at the moment, as people are stuck at home or upcountry, as the Kenyans say, so I thought I would ask around if people have anything they'd written in quarantine that I could publish...

A conversation about the state of Kenyan publishing with Stanley Gazemba.

Stanley Gazemba is a writer and journalist based in Nairobi. He is a recipient of the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature and the author of several novels, including works of childrens' literature, a critically acclaimed recent short story collection, literary criticism and music journalism. He is also a contributor to the recently published crime fiction...

Life in Lagos. Interview with Isaac Newton Akah.

Isaac Newton Akah is the author of Living in Gidi, a humorous account of what it is like to live in the city of Lagos. The book has done well on the Nigerian reading and publishing platforms Okadabooks and Mybuuk.com. Akah has since its publication gone on to write and produce two audiobooks.Can you tell...

Confessions of a Kenyan short story writer: Charles Chanchori.

Charles Chanchori is the author of the short story "Confessions of a Kenyan Uber Driver" which he published on Facebook in Feb 2017. It was shared more than 5000 times and recieved more than 7000 likes in less than two weeks. Tell me a little about yourself. What is your background? What have you published...

ASL mentioned in The Sunday Guardian (Nigeria)

Nigerian author, scholar and critic Kole Omotoso mentions Nicklas Hållén's presentation on Okadabooks and waithood at Elizade University in his column in this week's Sunday Guardian. You can find the column here. Omotoso is one of Nigeria's literary giants and his novel The Edifice (1971) was published in the formative African Writers Series.

Lecture in Akure, Nigeria, 22 March, 2019.

Nicklas Hållén will give a lecture at Elizade University, Akure, Nigeria on March 22.

Poems by Ikenna Okeh

Ikenna Okeh has kindly given us permission to publish the following, previously unpublished poems. The Plain Across The Sea Across some treacherous sea lay a stretch of fertile plain To the distant sights it lay alluring and plain It beckoned the adventurous soul to come But too many knew what of such adventures had become;...

WHEN I GOT MY VALIDATION AS A WRITER – by Ikenna Okeh

In those early stages when you have set out to write, with dreams of getting published and widely read someday, you don’t fail to realize that it is you alone who sees yourself as a writer. At this stage, all that you seek is a validation, a badge of recognition as a man or lady...

Genre-hustling in Nairobi: Author Sheila Bosire talks to African Street Literature

By Ashleigh Harris Sheila Bosire describes herself as a “career writer” mostly interested in literary fiction, which is a brave career choice in Nairobi, where fiction is clearly on the decline. Bosire describes literary fiction as a “niche market” in Kenya and this supports the impression I have had when talking to a variety of...