MAISHA YETU
Every major news story follows a familiar cycle. A crisis erupts. Television crews arrive. Newspapers publish front-page headlines. Social media fills with reactions and analysis. Then attention shifts. Another crisis takes its place. For those directly affected, however, life does not return to normal simply because public attention has moved elsewhere. This reality has once […]
The alleged piracy of Sue Nyathi’s novel is about more than copyright. It reveals how streaming platforms are reshaping African publishing—and why the continent’s book industry must prepare for global success. Few could have imagined that a Zimbabwean novel published in 2012 would become one of Africa’s biggest television talking points in 2026. Yet that […]
Every year on June 16, Africa marks the Day of the African Child, a moment set aside to reflect on the rights, welfare and future of the continent’s children. The day commemorates the courage of the school children of Soweto, South Africa, who in 1976 took to the streets to protest an education system designed […]
The other day the African Publishers Network (APNET) published a report whose findings do not flatter Kenya at all. The report places Kenya among a small group of African countries that levy Value Added Tax (VAT) on books. You might call it a list of shame. It is embarrassing that we are counted among nations […]
Let us go on literary excursion down memory lane, shall we? Here we find Pacesetters Series that mesmerised readers in English speaking Africa, from the seventies all the way to the late 90s.The series were published by Macmillan, a UK multinational, with offices in Eastern Africa, Western Africa and some representation in Southern Africa.Heinemann, another […]
In a landmark ruling, the High Court has barred the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) from demanding Factory Levy from publishers.Kebs had, in what looked like a fishing expedition, written to a number of publishers demanding payment for factory levies.In March 2024, Kebs wrote to Moran Publishers demanding Ksh52 million in levies and penalties dating […]
TITLE: Shadows in my SunshineAUTHOR: Beth RugaPUBLISHER: SelfMother and daughter bid each other farewell as the daughter goes back to college; it is to be the last time they are seeing each other.Even before she gets to school, a cruel twist of fate sees them ‘admitted’ at the same hospital under different circumstances, almost at […]
This year’s African Book Fair (ABF) was such a treat! The choice of venue—Maktaba Kuu at Upper Hill was spot on. Honestly, when Soma Nami first mentioned they’d host ABF at KNLS, I (and a few others) had my doubts. I imagined it might be difficult to access. Well, I was wrong. Completely wrong. When […]
Following the successful completion of the African Book Fair, held at the Kenya National Library Services (Maktaba Kuu), we sought out Wendy Njoroge, the co-convener of the event. She answered our four burning questions, below… MAISHA YETU: Did the fair meet your expectations? WENDY NJOROGE: Yes, and in many ways, it exceeded them. We saw […]
Today I have the single unenviable task of writing about Ngugi when everyone has written what is to be written about Kenya’s foremost writer, who went to join his ancestors on Wednesday last week. So where do I start? Well, I will start from the very beginning. Growing up, I didn’t encounter much of Ngugi; […]