Kenya's rising culture club

After social upheaval, clubs and small publishers have sprung up in the East African nation as new outlets for literary expression.

Kenyans have long been writing and, of course, telling stories. What’s new is the relative strength of the interest in domestic books. “They’re bestsellers,” says book salesman Protus Ikutwa of the Kwani? books that occupy a few shelves at Prestige bookstore in downtown Nairobi, next to volumes about Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama. Mr. Ikutwa says the store was selling five copies a day. more..

Memoirs: Are Kenyans opening up to scrutiny?

Literature enthusiasts will best remember 2009 as a ‘good’ year. It was the year some prominent and unknown personalities penned their stories in an attempt to give Kenyans a glimpse into their lives and capture historical events that have shaped this country.

Among notable autobiographies published include, Njenga Karume’s Beyond Expectations: from Charcoal to Gold, Ndingi Mwana-a-Nzeki’s, A Voice Unstilled and Dr Ben Kipkorir’s Descent from Cherang’any Hills: Memoirs of a Reluctant Academic, former Kenya National Union of Teachers secretary general and Francis Ng’ang’a, Battles and Triumphs among others more ...

Kenyan Publishers Face Lean Times

Source: Business Daily Last December Macmillan Kenya, a local publishing house, launched its first autobiography of Benjamin Kipkorir titled Descent from Cherang’any Hills: Memoirs of a Reluctant Academic.

It is not Macmillan’s norm to print memoirs. “We have to diversify to survive, competition is tough when it comes to textbooks,” says Mr James Mwazemba, the publishing manager. Macmillan is known for publishing textbooks but the firm has lately shown interest in trade books, e-books, and even early childhood books. As with Macmillan, most publishers are changing tack to survive in a competitive field. . . .

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