By Edward Nawotka
This weekend came the shocking news that Faber and Faber finance director David Tebbutt was shot dead and his wife kidnapped while staying at a beachside Kenyan resort.
The event is likely to cast a shadow over the Storymoja Hay Festival which starts this Thursday and runs through the weekend in Nairobi. Overseas guests expected to appear at the festival include Hari Kunzru, Booker Prize-winner Ben Okri, travel writer Peter Moore, as well as Hay director Peter Florence. The event is sponsored by both the British Council and the US Embassy.
The festival is in its third year. Storymoja is a literary organization focused on “connecting the stories of the African continent.” As such, much of the programming is focused on developing creative writers. Some, such as Granta deputy editor Ellah Allfrey, have argued it is further evidence of a renaissance in African writing.
A sampling the work of this year’s winners of the Storymoja Hay Festival Story and Poetry contest. This year’s contest theme was “This is My African Story.”
The winners of the short story contest are:
- This is My Africa by Raha Gatere Mwathi
- Two Sides of the Same Coin by Nyakallo Lephoto
- This is My Africa by Naomi Mutua
The Judges have now made their decisions! And the winners of the Storymoja Hay Festival Poetry Contest titled “This is my Africa” are:
- The Flags are Tatteredby Pascal Mailu
- Old Continent by Clifton Gachagua
- For Posterity’s Sake by Cugu Muriuki