This 4th edition of NBO Litfest, co-presented by Book Bunk and Hay Festival Global, brings together writers, artists and thinkers to explore alternative knowledge systems. Scheduled for 26 - 29 June 2025 in Nairobi’s public libraries; McMillan Memorial Library, Kaloleni Library and Eastlands Library, the festival presents inspiring thoughts and perspectives from the worlds of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, music, visual arts and governance. Book your tickets here.
In 2020, Book Bunk set out to better understand Kenya’s public libraries; their histories, collections, architecture, as well as the people who use them. At the time, the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) had listed Kenya as having the highest number of libraries in Africa. We wanted to see them all. Three years later, in 2023, we did just that! We visited every public library in the country. This presentation-style event shares the story of that journey and what we learned along the way: about the state of our libraries, the communities they serve, and what they reveal about Kenya herself. It also marks the official launch of Book Bunk’s Library Ecosystem Research Report; a milestone publication that maps the present and reimagines the future of Kenya’s libraries.Wanjiru Koinange and Maureen Mumbua in conversation.
Ntone Edjabe, Prof. Tanya Hernández and Rosie Olang in conversation with Ayisha Osori
Everything is political
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Green Bunk Stage
How do multidisciplinary artists and academics find the right avenues to address the state of the world? Hear from Ntone Edjabe, aCameroonian writer, journalist, DJ and the founding editor of Chimurenga magazine. He will be joined by Prof. Tanya Hernández, an author of books on global anti-Blackness whose most recent nonfiction release is Racial Innocence: Unmasking Latino Anti-Black Bias and the Struggle for Equality, and Rosie Olang, a Kenyan writer, artist and independent curator, about their radical and unconventional practices. In conversation with Ayisha Osori.
With the support of the Ford Foundation-Malunga: Network for Global Justice
Dennis Mugaa, Sandra Nekh and Joan Thaitah in conversation with Otieno Owino
Emerging voices in Kenyan fiction
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Green Bunk Stage
Curious to know what the path to publishing entails? Three emerging Kenyan authors speak on their journeys so far. Dennis Mugaawon the 2022 Black Warrior Review Fiction Contest and published a debut short story collection, Half Portraits Under Water, Sandra Nekh is a filmmaker and lecturer with several novels independently published in Nairobi and Joan Thaitah is a lawyer and the writer behind the popular Confessions of Nairobi series featuring candid conversations with men and women living in the city. In conversation with Otieno Owino. Register to watch online
Goretti Kyomuhendo in conversation with Frankline Sunday
Book Talk: Promises
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Book Talk Stage
One-on-one discussion with Goretti Kyomuhendo about her new novel, Promises that exposes the shadow world of illegal immigrants, and the creativity with which people in the legal margins rise to meet an inhumane system. In conversation with Frankline Sunday.
Dipo Faloyin and Sani Ladan in conversation with Nyambura Mutanyi
The injustice of being misunderstood
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Ikulu Stage
A journalist and memoirist discuss the power of image-making in the face of prevailing misconceptions and stereotypes about Africa. Dipo Faloyin is a journalist and the author of Africa Is Not a Country. Cameroonian author and human right activist, Sani Ladan's book La luna está en Duala: Y mi destino en el conocimiento (The Moon Is in Duala: And My Destiny, in Knowledge) outlines his experience with migration and geopolitics. In conversation with Nyambura Mutanyi.
With the support of AC/E, Acción Cultural Española
Keith Ang'ana, Christine Mungai and Faith Odhiambo in conversation with Wanjeri Gakuru
Imagine Freedom: Where do we go from here?
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Green Bunk Stage
Why was it not possible to transform the momentum of the June-July protests into a political movement with a vision and strategy? As the country marks one year since the Gen-Z revolution, what can we learn from the events of that time and what unfolded after? We seek insights from Christine Mungai, News Editor of Pan-African newspaper The Continent and former Curator at Baraza Media Lab; Keith Ang'ana, a writer, editor, and one of the founders of Qwani, a vibrant youth-led initiative and Faith Odhiambo, President of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK). In conversation with Wanjeri Gakuru.
Velia Vidalexplores her latest book, Tidal Waters, which is a vision of how creating something for your community and yourself is a way of reading and writing your way into a known place and a new self. In conversation withWendy Njoroge.
Aditi Mittal and Ty Ngachira in conversation with Nesrine Malik
Power of humour
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Ikulu Stage
Indian comedian, writer and actor, Aditi Mittaland award-winning Kenyan stand up, Ty Ngachiraare no strangers to the stage. Join them for a witty and candid discussion on how stand up comedy provides audiences with tough truths and catharsis. In conversation with Nesrine Malik.
With the support of Open Society Foundations, South to North series
Bia'ni Madsa' Juárez López, Joan Otieno and Waringa Wahome in conversation with Edith Kimani
Indigenous wisdom and climate change
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Green Bunk Stage
Powerhouses in ecological activism and grassroots movements examine the interconnectedness of things and how the roadmap to reversing our ecological reality always existed. Gain insights from Waringa Wahome, an activist, lawyer and political theorist, Joan Otieno, an artist and environmentalist andBia'ni Madsa' Juárez López(Mexico)who advocates for Indigenous peoples and communities to strengthen and consolidate the relationship with their territories and the expressions of their cultures. In conversation with Edith Kimani.
With the support of Open Society Foundations, South to North series
Deep dive intoAyisha Osori's work, Love Does Not Win Elections about how she ran for the People's Democratic Party's ticket to Nigeria's House of Representatives in 2015 and lost. In conversation with James Murua.
Mugambi Nthiga and Dr. Gil Ndi-Shang in conversation with Kui Kabala
All the world’s a stage
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Ikulu Stage
Cameroonian scholar and author, Dr. Gil Ndi-Shangand award-winning Kenyan playwright, Mugambi Nthiga discuss the interconnected nature of politics and literature and the challenges and successes of using the arts to archive history. In conversation with Kui Kabala.
With the support of the Ford Foundation-Malunga: Network for Global Justice
William Shoki and Boima Tucker in conversation with Ainehi Edoro
Print to Platform: The Future of Radical Media
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Green Bunk Stage
Africa Is a Country began as a blog challenging Western media clichés. Fifteen years on, it has grown into a platform for critical writing, debate, and imagination across Africa and the diaspora. This panel reflects on AIAC’s evolution, and asks how "little magazines" can keep publishing with purpose in a world of hashtags, disinformation, and digital overload. William Shokiand Boima Tucker will talk with Ainehi Edoro.
Pankaj Mishra in conversation with Bhakti Shringarpure
Book Talk: The World After Ghaza
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Book Talk Stage
Conversation with Pankaj Mishra about his latest title, The World After Ghaza, an essential reckoning with the war in Gaza that reframes our understanding of the ongoing conflict, its historical roots, and the fractured global response. In conversation with Bhakti Shringarpure.
With the support of Open Society Foundations, South to north series
Panashe Chigumadzi and Momtaza Mehri in conversation with Carol Oyola
Accessing ancestral wisdom
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Ikulu Stage
British-Somali poet, Momtaza MehriandDr. Panashe Chigumadzi, an award-winning writer and historian break down how to convert research into poetry and prose. Momtaza Mehri is a former Young People’s Poet Laureate for London and works across criticism, translation, anti-disciplinary research practices, education and radio. Dr. Panashe Chigumadzi draws from black studies, settler colonial studies, and indigenous studies. She is the author of These Bones Will Rise Again, a historical memoir reflecting on Zimbabwe's 2017 coup and several dissertations. In conversation wiht Carol Oyola.
Ayanna Lloyd Banwo, Goretti Kyomuhendo and Leïla Slimani in conversation with Aleya Kassam
The woman as free
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Green Bunk Stage
Creating complex portraits of womanhood has been a through line across the works of award-winning authors Leila Slimani, a Franco-Moroccan author and journalist, Ayanna Lloyd Banwo, whose debut novel When We Were Birds won the 2023 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature and, Goretti Kyomuhendo, one of Uganda’s leading novelists and founding member of Ugandan Women Writers’ Association, FEMWRITE. The trio take a deep dive into the necessity of this firm resolve across their fiction and non-fiction work. In conversation with Aleya Kassam.
