#ReadingAfrica: A Panel with Sahra Noor, Joanne Bloch, Colleen Higgs, and Patrice Nganang

Memoir Nation: Weekly Inspiration for Writers is an extension of the Memoir Nation community hosted by Brooke Warner and Grant Faulkner, two friends and colleagues who bring a community-minded sensibility to the writing journey. Originally launched as Write-minded in 2018, this is a weekly writing podcast that focuses on memoir and personal writing, as well as industry trends and tips and resources for writers and authors.

This week Memoir Nation has the privilege of elevating the voices of four African-born authors who were part of a panel conversation with Brooke back in December. This was part of #ReadingAfricaWeek, a global reading celebration in which individuals and organizations share African books, create booklists, hold talks or panels, and spotlight writers. You can find out more at https://www.catalystpress.org, and we’ve curated a list for you as part of our own challenge this week to choose and read one African author (at least) in 2026. Thanks for listening and celebrating these authors with us this week. 

Subscribe and download the episode, wherever you get your podcasts. 

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Sahra Noor is a Somali-American writer and global health expert. Her debut memoir, Salt in the Snow, is coming out in June 2026 and explores what it means to be shaped by the salt air of Mogadishu and the snowy streets of Minneapolis. Joanne Bloch was an exhibiting visual artist for most of her life, until she lost her sight. Unseen is her anthology that emerged from her experience of visual impairment and her desire for marginalized voices to be better heard. She lives in Cape Town. Colleen Higgs is a writer and publisher, and the founder of Modjaji Books, the ground-breaking southern African women’s press she started in 2007. She is the author of Looking for Trouble, as well as two poetry collections. She also lives in Cape Town. Patrice Nganang was born in Cameroon and is a novelist, poet, and essayist. His memoir is Scale Boy, and he’s also the author of eleven other books. He teaches comparative literature at Stony Brook University in New York.