War, Confession, Political Reimagining: Five Essential Books by Kenyan Authors

Weep Not, Child by Prof. Ngugi wa Thiong’o was the first East African novel written in English published in Heinemann’s African Writers Series. Released in 1964, it told the story of Kenya’s Mau Mau struggle through the eyes of two brothers and a community under pressure.

This text would inspire several other local authors to consider a career in writing including Grace Ogot, David Maillu, Rebeka Njau and Marjorie Oludhe-Macgoye. This upward trend continued into the 1970s and 1980s with select novels introduced into the national high school curriculum as examinable English literature texts.

By the 1990s, Meja Mwangi and John Kiriamiti were churning out action-packed popular fiction which was now available alongside Swahili literature by authors such as Prof. Kithaka wa Mberia and Ken Walibora. However, political repression began to considerably affect publishing.

The industry went into a lull until the mid-2000s when Kenyan writers began to find their footing again. There was a new energy in their work spurred by upstarts like Binyavanga Wainaina whose satirical essay in Granta titled, “How To Write About Africa” had gone viral.

Authors were moving away from the rigamarole of submitting manuscripts to traditional publishing houses who prioritized curriculum-focused texts over experimental fiction. They instead formed their own publishing houses, wrote genre-bending novels and pursued self-publishing.

It is this rich history that Nairobi Litfest celebrates each year, spotlighting both emerging voices and stalwarts. Here’s a special selection of fantastic novels from Kenyan authors representing fresh perspectives on the human condition across poetry, fiction and nonfiction.

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Michelle Angwenyi, Gray Latitudes

An ode to memory and loss, this rule-defying chapbook was published as part of the New Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set (Akashic Books, 2020) co-edited by Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani. Making playthings of space and grammar, Gray Latitudes is a bold first publication by an author who approaches crafting thoughtful poetry in the most impulsive and instinctive ways.

Joan Thatiah, Confessions of Nairobi Women

Things aren’t always as they seem for the women living in the green city under the sun. Part of a best-selling series featuring the unguarded musings of everyday folks, presented here are thirteen new, scintillating tales.

Spanning every emotion between anger and lust, this collection makes for a fiery must-read.

Billy Kahora, The Cape Cod Bicycle War and Other Stories

A labor of love by the former Kwani? publisher turned academic, this is an anthology of short stories linked by characters with a deep-seated desire to reorder their lives. They go about it in rewarding, frustrating or troubling ways; yo-yoing from one moral extreme to another.

The collection features work previously published in McSweeney’s and Granta as well as shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing, signalling a long history of excellence.

Dennis Mugaa, Half Portraits Under Water

Despite starting off with a short story set in 1963, this is a contemporary meditation on the discovery of self, memory and kinship by an emerging voice in Kenyan fiction. Characters live colorful and exciting lives; stories are replete with the sights, sounds and flavors of Nairobi, Johannesburg, Mogadishu, Lagos, Cairo and beyond.

They live and die by their decisions in quietly unassuming yet firmly resolute ways.

Wanjiru Koinange, The Havoc of Choice

From the brilliant mind of Nairobi Litfest’s co-founder comes a sober and heartrending story set in Kenya’s 2007/8 post-election period. We follow Kavata, the daughter of a corrupt politician seeking to transcend her murky past.

Her loyalty is tested in the worst of times and her household becomes a microcosm for a nation in turmoil.

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A selection of sessions from Nairobi Litfest 2025 are available to watch free at hayfestival.org/nbolitfest.