BB LITFEST

 

The Third Edition of the NBO LitFest just opened last Thursday night initially at Nairobi’s main public library, the McMillan Memorial Library where many of Africa’s leading writers were meant to meet for the first-time last week. They had all been invited to Kenya by the co-founders of the NBO Litfest, Angela Wachuka and Wanjiru Koinange. The two are also co-founders of the Book Bunk Trust which spawned Kenya’s first NBO LitFest in 2017.

But all that had to change for security’s sake once people hit the streets in CBD protesting government’s taxation policy.

So the first event of the four-day Festival quickly shifted to British Council where a shortened showcase of all that lay ahead. That included changing the program schedule completely. Now most                                                                  of the workshops, panels, films, book readings, timely talks on issues like African feminism, racism, and mental health would be shifted to Kalolani Library. So too would the master classes offering practical tips on writing both fiction and non-fiction, poetry, features, literary criticism, and stories for children and teens.                                                                 

The only problem with this kind of cornucopia of cultural activity left festival curators with no other choice than to double-book times and events to endure invited artists got to share their expertise during the festival.

So, while some may have felt the frustration of not being able to be in two places at the same time, it was still well worth the effort just to meet some of the leading luminaries of African writing, especially now as the global literary world, is finally waking up to the quality and quantity of African writing emerging from all over the region.

Among those award-winning writers and other artists who participated in NBO LitFest, they came in representing either Ethiopia, Cameroon, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and South Africa or those who jetted in from Brazil, Columbia, Cuba, Mexico, Lebanon, and hopefully even Palestine. Most have come thanks to the generous support from the Open Society, being represented by Ayisha Oson and Sandra Chege for the British Council. Goethe Institute also contributed as did several others.

 The inaugural event last week                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    also signaled the newly-forged partnership between the Book Bunk Trust and Hay Festival Global. 

“It was actually the Hay Festival that reached out to us,” Wanjiru told BD LIfe shortly before the Litfest officially opened. The partnership seemed like a natural fit since both bodies share similar goals. They both aim to share their knowledge, experience, expertise and connections with one another. In Hay Festival’s case, they also hope to expand their network of thespians around the region in cooperation with Book Bunk which is currently working to upgrade Nairobi’s three-part public library system which includes the ninety-year-old MacMillan Memorial library together with the Kaloleni and Eastlands Public Libraries. They also hope collaboration with the Hay Fest will help them to modernize and fundraise for bb’s efforts to upgrade both outside and inside     of Nairobi’s public library system.

 

 

 

Wanjiru and Wachula also see their new partnership with the Ha prospective donors who might appreciate Book Bunk’s effosssrts to open up public spaces like libraries, which have been neglected for many years and fulfill their vision of restoring nairobi’s status as greenest, cleanest   city in the sun. The two woman have high hopes theirnew public libraries both inside and out.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

 

 

 

One of the reasons the two women joined hands initially was to set up the Book Bunk in 2017 and then NBO Litfest in 2021 was their mutual love of books. They were also committed to opening up public spaces where local communities, particularly children, could have more access to books and other social activities. And both wachuka and Wanjiru had worked at Kwani? Kenya’s first serious literary journal  

founded by the late, great writer Binyavanga Wainaina who spearheaded a revolutionary movement among                                young Kenyan writers, including both   women.

Other than Ngugi wa Thiong’o, one can’t think of a more compelling and influential Kenyan writer than Binyavanga. In 2014, Time magazine named him in its annual Time 100 report as one of the most “Most Influential People in the World”. He inspired the literary careers of countless young authors. That includes Wanjiru Koinange whose insightful novel, The Havoc of Choice examines the impact of colonization on post-colonial Kenya, including the stark and painful period of post-election violence in 2007 – 2008.

Meanwhile, Binyavanga had made Wachuka executive director in charge of both Kwani? the journal and Kwani?’s own NBO Bookfest, thus making her most qualified to work well with such a thoughtful writer as Wanjiru.

Last night at the launch of the NBO LitFest, the new collaboration between the Book Bunk Trust and the Hay Festival Global was applauded by both parties.

 

The Hay folks, having a rich history of running cultural festivals, hope to share it with fledgling festivals like NBO lITFEST. And the Book Bunk Trust was also happy to share contacts and receive some that could help with their fundraising efforts. “Revitalizing the three libraries is quite a costly affair since we’ve been working to clean and refurbish Abut we’ve been doing inventories, documenting, and even digitalizing what we’ve found. All of this requires more fund-raising efforts on our part,” Wanjiru added.