Alain Mabanckou and Yvonne Owuor in conversation with Garnette Oluoch-Olunya
Mythmakers
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Experts in world-building and weaving magic from the everyday and gravitas from the absurd, Congolese author and academic, Alain Mabanckou and beloved Kenyan novelist, Yvonne Owuor offer up a conversation about the necessity of imagination and challenging received truths. This is an unmissable meeting of incredible creative minds with storied careers in the literary world.
Supported by the Open Society Foundations’ South-to-South Initiative
Ziya Africa, Patriciah Joseph and Wanjira Wanjiru in conversation with Njahira Gitahi
The People Shall
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In the spirit of Prof. Wangari Maathai's hummingbird analogy that viewed no act in the face of insurmountable odds as small or insignificant, advocate and Katiba Institute, Programmes Manager, Patriciah Joseph; civic impact collective founder, Ziya Africa and grassroots activist Wanjira Wanjiru gather for a necessary conversation about Kenya's current political dispensation. As the election season draws nearer, perhaps it is time to reflect on what more each of us can do.
Shani Akilah, Lesley Nneka Arimah and Makena Onjerika in conversation with Ellah Wakatama
Beauty in brevity
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Don't miss this special spotlight on award-winning short fiction writers from across the globe whose dedication to the craft is sure to encourage the next generation of writers. Hear from Caine Prize winners Lesley Nneka Arimah and Makena Onjerika plus newcomer Shani Akilah in conversation with Chair of the Caine Prize, Ellah Wakatama, OBE.
Supported by the Open Society Foundations’ South-to-South Initiative
David Maillu in conversation with Nyambura Mutanyi
Retrospective on post-independence Kenyan fiction
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Main Stage
David Maillu is a prolific Kenyan known for his enthralling novels dating from the 1970s. He has written over 60 books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in Kikamba, English, and Kiswahili. Mailu's sensational novel, After 4:30 –which was first published in 1974– was recently reissued and spoke to the realities of the lives of urban housewives, office secretaries, and sex workers. Mailu's bold and provocative style both shocked and revolutionised literature from East Africa, firmly entrenching Maillu’s name among the older generation of literary giants. Mailu will be in conversation withNyambura Mutanyi.
Sisters of the East, with Sitawa Namwalie and Laura Sheïlla Inangoma
Playreading & Q&A
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Burundian theater performer and playwright Laura Sheïlla Inangoma's Sisters of the East ('Soeurs de l'Est') is a monologue by Hoda, a young Sudanese woman imprisoned in a Khartoum prison. Presented in Nairobi for the first time, the play will be recited by acclaimed Kenyan playwright, Sitawa Namwalie as she tells the story of two women locked in separate cells of the "Black Hole" for killing one of their cellmates. To escape unscathed, Hoda delves into the depths of their lives, their nightmares, and their dreams. This unmissable monologue explores themes of resistance, women's armed struggle, and the complexities of morality versus justice. The reading will be followed by a Q&A between the author and performer.
Supported by Prague-city of literature, Creative Africa festival, Czech Embassy and the National Institute for Culture.
Mahmud El Sayed and Marta Peirano in conversation with Frankline Sunday
Is technology eating our souls?
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Science journalist Marta Peirano and sci-fi writer Mahmud El Sayed offer a temperature check on the rapidly-evolving capabilities of tech and AI. Peirano has written a book, El rival de Prometeo on automata and artificial intelligence and variously on AI and alternatives to collapse. Sayed is the 2023 Future Worlds prize for Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers of Colour winner whose debut novel, The Republic of Memory is set on a generation ship on the brink of revolution as its crew begin to ask why they should toil for a people, and an empire, none of them remember. In conversation with Frankline Sunday.
With the support of Accion Cultural Española, AC/E
Arslan Attar, Ntone Edjabe and Olivia Kidula in conversation with James Murua
Art of the magazine
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In a world of rapidly reducing attention spans, the journal persists as a sumptuous, curated feast of the best new voices in literature and visual art. Publishing daring fiction and poetry; meditative longform pieces on culture and politics and existing as a playground for fresh, radical ideas. Hear from the editors of literary journals; Ntone Edjabe (Chimurenga), Olivia Kidula(Will This Be a Problem?) and Arslan Attar (The Desi Collective) regarding the legacies of their publications and the communities they serve.
Supported by the Open Society Foundations’ South-to-South Initiative
Dr. Mordecai Ogada and Fiona Tande in conversation with William Moige
Questioning conservation
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Amid musings on speculative cartography that welcomes repair and new configurations of abundance, we still exist in the reality of extractive capitalism and false allies working against the protection of natural heritage. Dr. Mordecai Ogada a carnivore ecologist, conservation policy scholar and author of The Big Conservation Lie and Fiona Tande, a distinguished Maasai wildlife filmmaker, conservationist and director of Pridelands Wildlife Film Festival. This panel investigates the complexities behind the management of natural resources and the rights of indigenous communities. In conversation with William Moige.
Natasha Brown, Inua Ellams, Nanjala Nyabola and Pol Vouillamoz in conversation with Dr. Mamka Anyona
Interview: Writing to reposess, rename, reown
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Kenyan essayist and political analyst, Nanjala Nyabola; British-Nigerian poet and playwright, Inua Ellams; Catalan and Swiss poet, writer and translator, Pol Vouillamoz; and Natasha Brown; named one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists in and the Chair of the International Booker Prize 2026 judges, discuss identity, Otherness and unpack how they employ language as a precise emotional instrument.
Supported by the British Council’s UK/Kenya Season 2025 and the Ramon Llull Institut
Moussa Sene Absa, Chris King and Maia Lekow in conversation with Kelvin Kariuki
Documentary as Memory
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A discussion on creative documentary storytelling with celebrated Senegalese filmmaker, Moussa Sene Absa and Kenya-based filmmaking duo, Maia Lekow and Chris King. Absa's charming, poetic films challenge dominant narratives while embracing the contradictions of post-colonial Senegalese life. Partners in life and art, Lekow and King employ an artful, long-form storytelling style —evident in their films, The Letter and How to Build a Library— that seeks to hold a mirror to our world and break down barriers.
Njeri "DJ Ziggie" Gitungo, Tunde Onakoya and Lola Shoneyin in conversation with Latoya Blackwood
In praise of the third space
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Celebrating the necessity and philosophies underpinning the curatorial strategies behind Ake, a globally-acclaimed festival with Director Lola Shoneyin; an all-femme dance party from the perspective of event co-founder and performer, Njeri DJ Ziggie Gitungo; and Guinness world record holder, Tunde Onakoyawho teaches the sport to low-income communities.
Alain Mabanckou in conversation with Nteranya Sanginga
History and the truthtellers
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Alain Mabanckou grew up in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo, and studied law in Brazzaville and Paris. A writer of poems and essays, Mabanckou wrote his first novel in 1998 with his fifth text, Broken Glass, ranked as one of the 100 best books of the 21st century by the Guardian. His work has won several prizes, including the Renaudot Prize and has been shortlisted for the International Booker Prize twice. He is now a full Professor of Literature at UCLA. He discusses retaining clarity and perspective in an ever-evolving political and cultural landscape with Congolese creative, Nteranya Sanginga.
Dr. Portia Malatjie, Muthoni Mwangi and Wana Udobang in conversation with Abigail Arunga
Experiments in form
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Exploring new paths to storytelling across literature, poetry, film and visual art with Nigerian writer, poet and performer, Wana Udobang; South African curator and Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Town, Dr. Malatjie; and Kenyan visual research collage artist, Muthoni Mwangi. In conversation with Abigail Arunga.
Supported by the Open Society Foundations’ South-to-South Initiative
Lina Meruane, Dr. Nick Makoha and Safiya Sinclair in conversation with Lily Bekele-Piper
Mothers loom large
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Exploring how maternal figures materialize in fiction and life and the gray areas between truth and reverence with 2024 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature winner and poet, whose memoir, How to Say Babylon chronicles her mother's strength and sacrifices; Pol Vouillamoz, a Catalan and Swiss poet and winner of the 2018 Horta Youth Literature Prize for the play El nom de la mare ('The Mother’s Name') and award-winning Chilean writer and scholar, whose essay, Contra los Hijos ('Against Children') warns of the dangers of conservative ecofeminist ideals.
A frank conversation about how maternal figures materialize in fiction and life and the gray areas between truth and reverence with 2024 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature winner and poet, Safiya Sinclairwhose memoir, How to Say Babylon chronicles her mother's strength and sacrifices; Ugandan poet and playwright based in London, Dr Nick Makoha, whose work explores fatherhood and was recently shortlisted for the 2025 T.S. Eliot Prize and award-winning Chilean writer and scholar, Lina Meruanewhose essay, Contra los Hijos (Against Children) warns of the dangers of conservative ecofeminist ideals.
Supported by the Open Society Foundations’ South-to-South Initiative
