Asenath Bole Odaga

Listen Asenath Bole Odaga is recognised for her contributions to the Africanisation of education in Kenya during the early years after independence. She is credited with highlighting the importance of African oral literature and introducing it to the education system. She also made a name for herself as an author, publishing over 30 titles in […]

Wanjiku Kabira

Listen Wanjiku Mukabi Kabira is an Associate Professor of Literature at the University of Nairobi, an author and a literary critic. She has published widely in the areas of oral literature, culture, governance, constitution-making and gender issues. She took the first steps towards a literary career in 1965 when she wrote and recited a poem […]

Pat Wambui Ngurukie

Listen Pat Wambui Ngurukie is an author of fiction novels whose focus is on romance in an urban setting. She has written titles such as I Will Be Your Substitute, Soldier’s Wife, Thorns of a Dead Rose (previously titled Businessman’s Wife), Tough Choices and The CEO’s Wife. She co-authored Our Mother’s Footsteps with Professor Wanjiku […]

Marjorie Oludhe MacGoye

Listen The late award-winning author Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye is one of Africa’s most celebrated female writers, having penned numerous compelling novels, short stories, poems and children’s stories depicting the social and ethical evolution of post-colonial Kenya. Forget all the hype about the digital age. At age 87, British-born Marjorie Oludhe MacGoye, who lived in Kenya for […]

Muthoni Likimani: Pre-independence Trailblazer writes on into her 90s

Listen Witnessing Kenya’s turbulent transitional period in history that was characterised by a monumental clash between long-held traditional cultures and a Western Christian worldview, shaped the consciousness of this deeply thoughtful woman and emboldened her to become a woman of many firsts. Kahuhia in Murang’a District looked a lot different in 1925 than it does […]

Muthoni Garland

Listen The birth of Storymoja transformed Kenya’s literary scene, empowering established and aspiring writers by providing a platform to hone their skills and tell their stories. Muthoni Garland’s appearance on the literary scene could well be described as an out- of-the-blue affair. Her name is synonymous with Storymoja, a publishing outfit that has revolutionised Kenya’s literary scene. Storymoja dates […]

Margaret Ogola

Listen The prolific doctor-turned-author responsible for giving us The River and the Source, a scintillating novel that leaves readers in awe, left behind a legacy of hope through her compassion- based work to empower women and children. When cancer claimed Dr Margaret Ogola from the earth, a source of inspiration was silenced forever. Her début offering, The River and […]

Barbara Kimenye

Listen Barbara Kimenye is remembered as one of East Africa’s most prolific writers, having authored over 50 children’s books whose popularity peaked in the 1980s. She is most well-known for the ‘Moses’ series published between 1968 and 1987, which chronicled the life and adventures of Moses, a schoolboy in a boy’s institution in Uganda. Today her books have sold […]