We look back at the literary scene in 2022 in the second of a two-part series; in this post, we look at the new books from the continent and the literary festivals we covered. In 2016, we here at James Murua Literary introduced what we called the “Outstanding African Literary Awards” where we gave you […]
We look back at the literary scene in 2022 with a two-part series starting with those who left us in 2022 and winners of literary competitions across Africa and its diaspora. In 2016, we here at James Murua Literary introduced what we called the “Outstanding African Literary Awards” where we gave you a look at […]
On Monday, we announced a new initiative, Kenya Writes with Goethe-Institut Kenya, to showcase writers from Kenya. Today we kick off with our first writer Fatma Shafii who lives in Mombasa, Kenya. Fatma Shafii is a Swahili writer who likes to write about human behaviour and emerging issues affecting the continent based in Mombasa. Her […]
Today we introduce, Kenya Writes, a new project to showcase writing from Kenya in partnership with Goethe-Institut Kenya. In 1964, Weep Not Child the first novel written in English by Ngugi Wa Thiong’o and the first by a Kenyan was published. Since then, there have been a dazzling array of writers on a huge number […]
We look at some of the awards won by writers of African descent from the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Booker Prize, the Camões Award to the Prix Goncourt in 2021. What a year 2021 was for writers of African descent as they scooped many of the most prestigious awards in English, French, and Portuguese […]
We look back at some of the books that were published across African and Black literary communities in 2021. It was a very productive year for writing in the African and Black community as publications came out in numbers that we haven’t seen in many a year. We saw so many more poetry collections, novels […]
As August comes through, we have a brand new WordPress theme for those of you who follow us here at JamesMurua.com. We will retain the same content quality and schedule. In 2013, JamesMurua.com was founded to shine a light on African writers that severely needed a spotlight. Since then, we have posted thousands of blogs […]
In which we shine a light on the platforms that raised African and Black literature in 2020. For literary ecosystems to allow writers and their work to blossom, a variety of platforms are needed. These platforms have several roles. Here are a few platform types and their roles. Literary magazines or journals: These publications allow […]
We shine a light on the many books that were produced in African and Black Literature and give you our top picks. It was a very productive year for writing in the African and Black community as publications came out in record numbers. This year we saw many more poetry collections, novels and novellas, essay […]
We look at those who passed away in African and Black Literature 2020 in the past year in our annual James Murua Literary Top picks. We always start this segment with the African and Black writers who passed away in the past year to honour them and their contributions. This year was no different as […]
We present to you the outstanding players in African and Black Literature 2020 for the past year in our annual James Murua Literary Top picks. In 2016, we here at James Murua Literary introduced what we called the “Outstanding African Literary Awards” where we gave you a look at the year with a focus on […]
Bisi Adjapon and Zoë Beck are the guests at the James Murua Literary LiveStream on Wednesday, December 9, 2020, at 18:00 GMT/ 19:00 WAT/ 20:00 CAT/ 21:00 EAT. You can join the stream, brought to you in cooperation with Frankfurter Buchmesse with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office, on Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter. […]
Mariette Tchamda Mbunpi and Annette Michael are the guests at the James Murua Literary LiveStream on Wednesday, November 25, 2020, at 18:00 GMT/ 19:00 WAT/ 20:00 CAT/ 21:00 EAT. You can join the stream, brought to you in cooperation with Frankfurter Buchmesse with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office, on Facebook, YouTube, or […]
Ondjaki and Philipp Khabo Koepsell are the guests of the James Murua Literary LiveStream on Wednesday, November 18, 2020, at 18:00 GMT/ 19:00 WAT/ 20:00 CAT/ 21:00 EAT. You can join the stream, brought to you in cooperation with Frankfurter Buchmesse with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office, on Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter. […]
Subscribers to this blog can now show their financial support by making donations that will go a long way to ensuring the work gets out. On April 24, 2013, I registered the blog JamesMurua.com to give visibility to African writers rarely covered by mainstream African media. Over the last seven years, I have covered literary […]
