Final curtain falls on Francis Imbuga

Francis Imbuga, whose play, Betrayal in the City, became one of Kenya's most iconic works of literature died on Sunday night after a stroke, the Daily Nation has reported via twitter.
Imbuga, who died at the age of 65, has had an illustrious writing career, emerging as one the most prolific playwrights in Kenya alongside the late Wahome Mutahi, who died after a botched surgery nine years ago.
As a literature lecturer, Prof Imbuga contributed to debates on culture and shaped a generation of scholars, teachers and writers who studied at Kenyatta University where he taught for many years.
Earlier this month, the Kenya Institute of Education (KIE) reselected Betrayal in the City as a literature set book for secondary schools. This was the third time that the play was being used as a study text for students sitting the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education. Also reselected a second time was The River and the Source, a novel by the late Dr Margaret Ogola.
Betrayal in the City was a popular book during the repressive years of the Moi administration, firing the imagination of young readers who yearned for change in governance. The play's conflict was resolved in a bloodless coup lead by a disgruntled university student, Jasper Wendo, whose brother had been shot dead during an earlier protest by students. The play had high resonance especially because, in the years of the Moi repression, university students were at the forefront of championing democracy, human rights and other freedoms. Some of them would later ascend to positions of political leadership nationally.
On November 9, 2012, in an interview with the Saturday Nation, Prof Imbuga said that he would have preferred to have his newest play, The Return of Mgofu, selected as a set book, arguing that it had more contemporary themes. However, the book published by Longhorn Publishers Kenya Ltd, was not among those submitted to KIE for consideration.
Among his other books are Aminata, Man of Kafira (a sequel to Betrayal in the City), Shrine of Tears and Miracle of Remera among others.
Prof Imbuga's widow, Prof Mabel Imbuga, is vice-chancellor of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

Writer shares session with Daystar University students

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon in a literary discussion with students from Daystar University's Athi River campus.
It was an enriching experience for me and I enjoyed sharing with the group at the invitation of their two lecturers, Dr Wandia Njoya and Mr Larry Ndivo.
Click here for a report on the discussion.
Thank you very much to the Daystar fraternity for their support and the students for the engaging interaction.

KIE Picks River and The Source as new KCSE set book

Out goes Prof Ngugi wa Thiong'o's The River Between and in comes The River and the Source by Dr Margaret Ogola.
The Kenya Institute of Education has picked the late Ogola's family saga as the new Kenya Certificate for Secondary Education set book to be studied in schools for the next five years.
Also making a comeback to the secondary education curriculum is Prof Francis Imbuga's play, Betrayal in the City, which was a set book in the late 1980s.The play is a story about how a university student, Jasper Wendo, helped topple an African dictator in a bloodless coup following the killing of his brother, Jere.
This is the second time that the institute, which determines the national curriculum has used Dr Ogola's novel and the third that is using Prof Imbuga's play as set books. The first time that the novel was studied was between 1998 and 2001. The book, published by Focus Books in 1994, won the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature in 1995 and the Commonwealth Writers' (Africa Region) Best First Book prize the same year.
The author died of cancer in September, 2011, the same month as the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laurette and fellow countrywoman Wangari Maathai.
The school edition of Prof Ngugi's book was published by East African Educational Publishers five years ago. The original novel by the same title was published by Heinemman in 1965 under the African Writers Series pioneered by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe's whose ground-breaking novel, Things Fall Apart, has also been a set book twice in the Kenyan curriculum, the latest being between 1988 and 1991. The school edition was re-edited to make it conform with changing cultural and education realities, including re-writing the sections on female circumcision, also commonly referred to as female genital mutilation.

Dr Ogola's novel is a story of three generations of women from the same family and traces their journeys through life at different stages of Kenya's history and how they confronted the challenges of their time, from lack of education to living with HIV. Dr Ogola was a pediatrician at the Kenyatta National Hospital. 
Also picked by KIE this year is Bertolt Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle to be studied under "Plays from the rest of the world category". The school edition of the book is published by Target Publications. Wikipedia describes the play as "a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a better mother than its natural parents".
Brecht, who was born in Germany in 1898, wrote play in 1944 while he was living in the US. He died in August 1956.
Target is publishing the play under license from Penguin Books. The publisher's swahili book, Kidagaa Kimemwozea, by Prof Ken Walibora, was also picked in the Kiswahili category. Prof Walibora teaches in the US.
Kidagaa Kimemwozea replaces Utengano (authored by Prof Said Ahmed and published by Longhorn) while Caucasian Chalk Circle replaces EAEP's An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen.
Betrayal in the City, meanwhile, replaces John Ruganda's Shreds of Tenderness, which was published by the Oxford University Press, Kenya.
The new books will be taught and examined alongside Witi Ihimaera's novel, The Whale Rider, which was selected last year. Prof Ngugi's book was to have been replaced at the same time but the decision was deferred until this year.
According to the New Zealand Book Council, Ihimaera, 68, is the first Maori writer to publish short stories and a novel. His book has been described as "a magical, mythical work about a young girl whose relationship with a whale ensures the salvation of her village.

Haruki Murakami's 'A Wild Sheep Chase' creates magical world

Can a woman have such beautiful ears that she has to keep them hidden away to live a normal life? Can a sheep with a mark of the red star occupy the souls of men and spur them to reach great heights in their society? Can the search for this sheep change a man’s fortunes so much that he has to close down his business, lose his girlfriend and make so much money all in a space of a month? And what secret does a man simply known as “The Rat” hold that could unlock the mystery of the sheep?
These are the questions that jump to mind on reading Haruki Murakami’s novel, A Wild Sheep Chase.
Yet, the novel — first published in 1982 in Tokyo as Hitsujio Meguru Boken — is hard to place. Is it a mythology? There are flashes of mythology running throughout the otherwise modern urban narrative. Is it a detective story? But the unnamed protagonist is not a detective. He is just another bored, hard-smoking small-time PR executive until a mysterious man walks into his office and gives him the seemingly impossible assignment to go on a wild sheep chase in the hills of Hokaido, Japan. Is the book a romance? It cannot be because the main character is a self-obsessed man who is more contended chasing the wild thoughts coursing through his mind than he is in winning over the hearts of the women in his life, including the part-time call girl-cum-editor with the beautiful ears.
Some critics have described it as a comic and in the final analysis it is an engrossing book to read and may be that is all that matters.
It is interesting that the novel — despite having been written thirty years ago — has this year been occupying prominent display positions in European bookshelves. Is it because Murakami, the author, is enjoying a renaissance or is it because he also wrote the much-acclaimed IQ84, which was published in three volumes, the first of which came out in 2009 and the last in 2010?
In one of the blurbs on the cover, a reviewer from the Sunday Herald says: “Murakami is a true original and yet in many ways he is also like Franz Kafka’s successor because he seems to have the intelligence to know what Kafka truly was — a comic writer”.
Murakami originally writes in Japanese and his books have been translated into English, with A Wild Sheep Chase being first published in the UK in 2000 (by Havill Press) and later by Vintage in 2003.
According to Wikipedia, the first edition of IQ84 — a tome in its own right — was sold out on the first day and went on to sell a million copies in the first month of publication. This, then, vindicates the renewed interest in his earlier works, including A Wild Sheep Chase.
The New York Times Book review rightly notes that “there isn’t a kimono to be found in A Wild Sheep Chase. Its main characters, men and women, wear Levis.”
Indeed, were it not that the plot is set in Tokyo and a remote village Hokaido, this is a story that could have been set anywhere, even the windy hills of Mau where it is not uncommon to find sheep grazing in the undulating grasslands that were once forests. And this underlines Murakami’s reputation as an international writer.

Nairobi Book Fair coming up next week

It is that time of the year again!
Book lovers, book sellers and book buyers can mark their calenders because from Tuesday, September 25, the Sarit Centre mall in Nairobi will be hosting the 15th edition of the Nairobi International Book Fair. The theme for this year will be "Education and Peace" and it is not difficult to see why. Kenya is still feeling the bitter after-taste of the 2007 post-election violence in which hundreds of people were killed and over 650,000 displaced from their homes in three months of fighting after the results of the 2007 general election were disputed. Since then, there has been a concerted campaign to re-unite the divided nation through national healing and reconciliation campaigns while some of the leaders believed to have borne the greatest responsibility for the fighting have been taken to the International Criminal Court to stand trial. The case opens in April next year, just one month after the next general election.
What this means is that there is need to keep the peace campaigns going to ensure that violence does not recur next year and to foster national harmony even as the country enters a critical election campaign period. As such, the choice of the theme for this year's fair could not have been more appropriate.
Over the years, the stature of the fair has been growing considerable and if trends are anything to go by, soon it will be time for the organisers to find a bigger venue to accommodate the ever-growing number of visitors.
One of the highlights of the fair, of course, remains the awarding of the biennial Wahome Mutahi Literary Prize on the evening of September 29. This year, three books have been shortlisted for the fourth edition of the award named after satirist and columnist Wahome Mutahi who died nine years ago.
Ng'ang'a Mbugua's Different Colours is one of the shortlisted titles. The others are The Eye of the Storm by veteran columnist and surgeon Yusuf Dawood and David Mulwa's We Come in Peace.
Readers might remember that Ng'ang'a Mbugua's novella, Terrorists of the Aberdare, won the third edition of the prize and if he bags it this year, he will be the first Kenyan writer to bag the prize back to back.
Interestingly, though the award is meant for fiction from Kenya, authors from Tanzania have been submitting for the Kiswahili category of the Prize, an indication that the Kenya Publishers Association, which sponsors the award, might need to make the prize regional in coming years.
Tens of exhibitors, from Kenya and other countries from Africa and Asia are expected to showcase their books and other publications, e-readers and other technological gadgets that are transforming the way readers are interacting with books.
Of course, Big Books Ltd will be there too and the highlight of their stand will be its latest publication, The Wisdom of Steve Jobs, which gives readers congealed tips on business management and leadership that they can use to grow their own enterprises or excel in their careers. The publisher, whose titles are now available in e-book versions, will also be presenting e-readers to help potential readers familiarise themselves with the gadgets that will shape the future of reading.
See you at the fair. And spread the word.

Let there be poetry: Anthology celebrates beauty

Going by the Greek root of the word — poie-ma — a poem denotes something that is created. Often, poetry sprouts from the humblest of creative soils, but blossoms into something bigger than its creator, assuming a life of its own, deciding its own destiny in a universe replete with a multiplicity of other created things.
 And this is what happened to Heart to Heart, the anthology of reflective poetry published by Daystar University’s Centre for Research, Publications and Consultancy.
In his foreword to the anthology which features seven poets, former Daystar University Vice-Chancellor Godfrey Nguru said the seed of the book was planted one day as he sat listening to a poem on environmental conservation.
After listening to the poem by Purity Kiambi — a lecturer and writer — the don challenged her to get it published. And, as fate would have it, the seed of a book was sawn.
The anthology is divided into seven themes, from nature and society to politics, from celebrations of life and friendship to contemplation of death and dying.  As creators, poets can play God. Poems are, after all, the fruit of their imaginations. It is within their power to say: “Let there be beauty” and this comes to pass. But, and this is also significant, poets also play man. By feeling the pain of humanity, by speaking about the things that make them sing and make them weep, poets can reach to the heart of the things that drive humanity and yank from it the subtle truths that make the rest of us sit and ponder about the meaning of life.
This duality permeates the anthology edited by Larry Ndivo and Miriam Maranga Musonye. Some of the poems are frail to the point of being fragile. Some, like Don Awene’s Write me a Poem, are, to borrow his own words, “a gentle odyssey of the mind, to a gentler world of sparkling springs”. Others are bold and have the audacity of eagles, soaring high, giving the reader unrivalled perspectives on life and living, like Musonye’s celebration of the desert.
Endless spread of sand
Hot, dry and barren
From what inner well
Does your oasis spring?
The poets  are bound by a simple thread: All are working or have worked at Daystar University. But that is where their similarities end, regardless of whether one is examining their themes, style or career paths, except may be if you delve into the unpretentious simplicity of their verse. Like freshly picked berries, their poems are easy to digest. Once every often, the trained eye will stumble on the oddly flat word or phrase that stands out from the creative tapestry like a dry twig in a green patch. But then again would creation be complete without such?

Sex sells: Fifty Shades of Gray sparks heated exchanges

Well, well, well!
It appears that many readers across the globe are talking about E.L. James' novel, Fifty Shades of Grey, which is part of a trilogy that have become a best-seller and a hot subject of discussion.
In Kenya, the book continues to raise steamy debate. Women talk about it in lifts, with the drift of the argument being that it is a book for women. Really? I thought the main - and dominant - character is a man! Or am I missing something?
Oh!, so now there are books for women? What if a man was to write a racy book and say, well, for argument's sake, that it is only meant for men? Would that not rub someone the wrong way (no pun intended)?
Two writers from the Business Daily, had a go at the book. Their thoughts are published here.

Creative writer speaks on self-publishing

Recently, www.Biasharasme.co.ke interviewed writer Ng'ang'a Mbugua, on the challenges and opportunities of self-publishing.
For the full interview, click here.
Ng'ang'a's novella, Terrorists of the Aberdare, is now available on kobo. His other works,  Different Colours, A Novel and The Wisdom of Steve Jobs, a motivational book, will also be available in e-book format in coming weeks. 

Authors launch book on Somalia

The book cover

Somalia has since 1994 been considered as the problem child of Africa because the country has never known peace since the exit of Siad Barre from power, an eventuality that plunged the horn of Africa nation into lawlessness that persists to date.
However, in recent months, the discourse on Somalia has changed dramatically, with positive news coming from the land that has achieved notoriety on account of its pirates who wangled billions of dollars from shipping lines and governments in ransoms for captured ships and crew.
Only a few weeks ago, world leaders met to discuss the fate of Somalia while Turkey in particular, has been keen to use soft diplomacy to lure the country back into the fold of the community of nations.
Somalis have not been left behind in this discourse and in recent months, they have produced films celebrating peace in Mogadishu while its painters have hosted exhibitions on peace and rejuvenation of their country even as AMISOM soldiers fight with al-Shabaab militias for control of the country.
Now, a new book of photographic images has been published to celebrate the landscape of a country that has been raped by war and wanton destruction of the environment in the pursuit of quick gains from charcoal export which has left the land bare as Somalia exports its black jewels to Arab countries. But more importantly, the book raises awareness about some of the good things that are happening in Somalia and which are yet to find space in the international media which is paying more attention to the pirates and terror groups that control swathes of the vast country and its ocean.
The book by Fatima Jibrell and James Lindsay was launched at the Goethe Institut in Nairobi on Tuesday evening to a packed hall and amid tight security following recent explosive attacks in the city that left at least one person dead and tens injured.
Peace and Milk, Scenes on Northern Somalia, was, according to James, who was at the launch, meant to create a positive image about Somalia to the rest of the world. But it also chronicled the days he and Fatima spent traversing northern Somalia, sometimes in searing heat. More importantly, it makes a case for cooking using solar energy which is both cheaper than wood and charcoal but could also turn out to be more economically viable on a large scale if, as James put it, Somalia can learn to trade the energy savings for carbon credits from the world's leading polluters.
The book, which is available in Nairobi at Bookstop, Yaya Centre, costs Sh1,500 (about $18) and has an accompanying DVD on the adverse effects of the multi-million shilling trade in charcoal on the fragile environment of the largely desert country.
The book has a sub-title derived from the way of greeting of the Somali people; Nabad Iyo Caano, which loosely means, peace and milk, apparently the commodities with the highest currency in Somalia, where many of the people keep livestock, including camel and goats. According to the authors, when Somalis meet, they ask each other: "Ma nabad baa?" (Is there peace) and the usual answer is likely to be "Nabad iyo Caano" (Peace and Milk)

One of the authors at the book signing at Goethe Institut, Nairobi, on Tuesday.

Commonwealth Book Prize winners named

The 2012, Commonwealth Book Prize winner was named on Tuesday, and it is Shehan Karunatilaka of Sri Lanka.

He won the Sterling Pound 10,000 prize for his book,Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, published by Vintage Publishing, Random House India.

Shehan was born in Galle, Sri Lanka. He studied Business and Administration at Massey University in New Zealand, after which he worked as an advertising copywriter. He has also written rock songs and travel stories.

Margaret Busby, the chair of the prize said of the book: “This fabulously enjoyable read will keep you entertained and rooting for the protagonist until the very end, while delivering startling truths about cricket and about Sri Lanka."

The story is narrated by a retired hard-drinking sports journalist on an obsessive quest for the mysterious Pradeep Mathew, who may just be Sri Lanka’s best all-time cricketer.
"Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew sets the standard high for the new Commonwealth Book Prize, which aims to discover new talent and energise literary output in the different regions," said Ms Busby.
Shehan was equally ecstatic about his win: "I was surprised to make it to the final five, considering how strong the Asia shortlist was. To win it is quite crazy. Now I just need to find a pub in Wales that serves arrack. It's a privilege to be part of a global prize that has recognised so many great writers over the years. I feel deeply honoured.”
The Commonwealth Short Story Prize went to Emma Martin of New Zealand, for her story, Two Girls in a Boat.
According to Bernardine Evaristo, the chair of the prize, the story was chosen "for its gorgeous, elegant and spare writing; its nuanced handling of time, place and relationships; its daring, provocative subject matter and clear-eyed exploration of the choice of heterosexual conformity in the face of sexual mutability."
Emma is yet to publish a book although she completed an MA in Creative Writing at the Victoria University of Wellington in 2010. However, her stories and essays have been published in literary journals and anthologies in New Zealand and the UK.
The awards were presented at the Hay Festival by the multiple prize-winning Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

The regional winners for the Book Prize were as follows.

Regional Winner, Africa
Jacques Strauss, South Africa, The Dubious Salvation of Jack V, Jonathan Cape

Regional Winner, Asia
Shehan Karunatilaka, Sri Lanka, Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, Random House

Regional Winner, Canada and Europe
Riel Nason, Canada, The Town that Drowned, Goose Lane Editions

Regional Winner, Caribbean
Alecia McKenzie, Jamaica, Sweetheart, Peepal Tree Press

Regional Winner, Pacific
Cory Taylor, Australia, Me and Mr Booker, The Text Publishing Company.

Kenyan publisher makes history by listing

Longhorn Kenya Limited has this week made history by becoming the first Kenyan publishing firm to list its shares at the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
The company will be selling about 58.5 million shares by introduction.
The shares, which debuted at the Nairobi Securities Exchange on Wednesday had an offer price of Sh14 each but the first deal sold 1,000 shares for Sh20 each before they closed the day at Sh16.15. Yesterday, they climbed to Sh17.75 on the second day of trading.
The bourse was closed today because Kenya is marking 49 years of internal self-rule. The day is a national holiday commemorating the country's independence from Britain in 1963.
On Wednesday, one of Longhorn Kenya's leading shareholder, Mr F.T. Nyammo, a member of Parliament for Tetu Constituency in Central Province, rang the bell ahead of the listing of the company's shares on the alternative segment of the exchange.
According to the Business Daily, yesterday's price valued the company at Sh1.03 billion. (The exchange rate against the dollar is Sh86.83).
Longhorn has published two books by Ng'ang'a Mbugua: Mwai Kibaki, Economist for Kenya, a junior biography of Kenya's third president, and Catherine Ndereba, Marathon Queen, also a junior biography of Kenya's award-winning marathoner.
A few years ago, the company sold a significant number of its shares to Centum, formerly ICDI, making the listed investment company the biggest shareholder in the publishing firm.
Most Kenyan publishing houses, including Longhorn, depend on the school market for the bulk of their sales.
Only last month, publishing companies and book distributors said they would stop supplying books to schools unless they cleared Sh4 billion in debts.

New book on Steve Jobs by African writer

What can young people learn from the business strategies that Steve Jobs employed so successfully in transforming Apple Inc from a small company into one of the most profitable and innovative in the world?
That is the question that the new book by Ng'ang'a Mbugua, which is published this month by Big Books Ltd, seeks to answer.
The 100-page title distills the business, entrepreneurship and leadership lesson that young people can borrow to start their own companies, become innovators in their work places and learn strategies that can transform them from ordinary performers into achievers.
The 100-page book is based on extensive research and has ten chapters, each examining an aspect of Steve Jobs' business life that transformed him into a global figure who not only changed the computing world but also the way companies do business with each and with their clients.
The book also examines Kenyan companies and individuals who have used similar attributes to achieve outstanding successes in their respective fields, from photojournalist Mohammed Amin to retail giant Nakumatt and East African Breweries Ltd, the maker of Kenya's most popular beer brand, Tusker.
Ng'ang'a Mbugua has borrowed immensely from his journalistic experience, working with the leading business newspaper in Kenya and also from his creative writing experience.
The author won the inaugural Pan-Africa Broadcast and Heritage Award (PABHA) for his journalistic work in 2000 and the Wahome Mutahi Literary Award (2010) for his work of fiction, Terrorists of the Aberdare. He has authored seven other books and a leading publisher is later next month expected to unveil his latest fiction offering.
A copy of The Wisdom of Steve Jobs, retails at only Sh400 and will soon be available in e-book format for oversees readers.
The book is expected to be in bookstores next week but one can get his or her copy sooner by emailing editor@bigbooks.co.ke.
A sample chapter will be made available to readers of this blog before Friday.
Enjoy.
To get a free sample chapter, email the author at mbugua@bigbooks.co.ke

Have Nook, will read award-winning novella by Ng'ang'a Mbugua

Have you read an e-book lately? Well, now you have a chance to devour another!

Starting today, readers anywhere in the world can buy the award winning novella, Terrorists of the Aberdare, from Barnes & Noble for only $4.99. Yes, that is the right price.

All one has to do is click here.

The novella won the Wahome Mutahi Literary Prize in 2010 and was First Runner-up in the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature in 2011. 

Readers unfamiliar with the work might be asking, what is Terrorists of the Aberdare all about?

Well, it is a love story. No kidding.

It is also a story of heartbreak, of a man striving after an ideal that turns out to be much too high and all too costly for him. But authors are not always the best people to speak about their works.

Alphonce Shiundu of the Daily Nation newspaper read the book some time back and wrote the following review.

Dr Mike Kuria of Daystar University, Nairobi, was reading the novella at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport not so long ago and recorded his unique experience here.

The book was launched in Kenya in 2010 with the support of the Goethe Institut, Nairobi. Dan Whipple, an American living Kenya, was one of the readers who attended the launch and wrote the following report.

There are readers who will ask: "How do I get to buy and read the e-book?"

If you own a PC, Mac or iPad, all you need to do is go to the Barnes & Noble Web site and download the right app for your computer. You will also need a credit card to pay for the purchase. Once you pay for the book, it will be downloaded to the Nook app on your computer and viola! you can dig your teeth right into it.

Too bad the author can't autograph the e-book but trust some genius to come up with an app for that one of these fine days.

But we say too much.

Enjoy your reading! And feel free to share your thoughts.

Want to buy a Kenyan novel? Try Rachel's online bookshop

Rachel Muthoni is one woman to watch.
Although she told me that she studied biomedical science and technology at Egerton University, she is passionate about books.
Today, Racheal has a full time job but she is keen on selling books. What's more, she delivers them to the readers for a modest fee, so they do not have to walk to a bookshop to look for the titles they want, saving them time especially if they have busy schedules or they find themselves too far from the nearest bookshop.
Her model is unique because in Nairobi, book sellers hardly give new Kenyan authors a chance to showcase their books even when they are using the consignment (also called sell or return) model. Under this model, the author or publisher leaves copies of his or her publications with a book seller and collects money only after the books are sold. If they are not sold, say within a month or any other agreed period, then the bookseller gives back the books. This comes at no cost to the bookseller, besides stocking the books in their shelves. But Racheal is different.
Together with her husband, Enock Essendi, a computer science graduate from Egerton University, she runs Racheal's Bargain Corner, probably Kenya's only online bookshop.
Her model is very simple. She does not stock the books herself. Instead, she only buys them from publishers or other bookshops (if the publisher is not in a position to sell her the books in time). Then she delivers the books to the customers, whether they are in Kenya or abroad.
What's more, the site offers even used books for as little as Sh200 (just slightly less than $3).
So, next time you are looking for a novel, whether by a Kenyan author or by a foreign writer, you might want to check out her book shop.
For more information, visit their Web site. And while there, you can order a copy of Terrorists of the Aberdare, the novella which won the Wahome Mutahi Literary Prize in 2010 and was runner up for the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature in 2011.
Enjoy

Time for reforms after taking a break to learn

In the last one week, we did not post any new material because I had taken off some time to learn how to interact with readers better.
What this means is that in coming weeks, you will be seeing new features, pictures, a more dynamic presentation and of course, your regular news, views and reviews.
As readers, you are also welcome to share your thoughts and reviews on your favourite books, be they from Kenya or other parts of the world. At the moment, there is a great deal of excitement about E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey and we are looking forward to hearing what you and other readers have to say about this sensational book.
The point is more to create a forum where ideas can flourish and we welcome authors, literary critics, readers and book lovers to share their thoughts on the subject of books and publishing.
As promised earlier, the next publication by Big Books Ltd will be coming out later this month, probably in less than ten days but you will be the first to know when the book rolls off the press. All I can say for now is that the book has 100 pages and one of the chapters was expanded from an article published in the Business Daily some time last year.
Today, a journalist who kept the cutting came over to me and said: "That piece you wrote was powerful!"
And all I could say to him in reply was: "Watch this space!"
To you my friends, I say the same thing.

Computer to plate; Asia's printers are humming business

Not so long ago, I received a call from a printer based in Beirut. Yes, you heard correct, Beirut!
"Is that Mr Mbugua of Big Books Ltd?" He asked, and I answered in the affirmative. He went on to give the name of his company, which I have forgotten, and to explain that he would offer high quality printing services if I gave him the chance.
The call came as a surprise because for all the time I have heard the name Beirut mentioned, my mind always associates it with the staccato sound of automatic gunfire and shrapnel. Never, with the hum of printing presses. The only thing that made me reconsider that view was an article published in a recent edition of Newsweek, in which the writer praised the city as the place where she found her voice. Of course, a week later, a Newsweek reader promptly wrote back, arguing that  Beirut was a city where people - and especially women - disappeared and where immigrants were denied a voice. But that is besides the point.
Beirut, it appears, has been fishing around for business in the publishing industry and that has taken it to the waters of Africa.
Before the call came, I had received another offer from a company in China but I could not consider it largely because the reputation of Chinese companies is in tatters. The only good thing they appear to make is the iPad; if you don't dwell too much on the working conditions that have made some workers there commit suicide.
Of all the offshore printers, India's are the most aggressive. And they offer such bargains that I wonder why it is so expensive to print in Nairobi. Were it not for corruption at the port and the veiled extortion that is the stock in trade of clearing agents, printing in India makes more business sense than printing in Nairobi. What I have never come to terms with is that the cost of printing a book in India and delivering it to the Mombasa port is cheaper than printing in Nairobi. The big challenge, and the only reason we are not printing offshore, is because of the small challenge of getting the consignment once it gets to the port.
Once, I had this conversation with a local printer and all he could say was: "Why do you want to export jobs?" But why not?
The pricing of books is more than a value proposition. One has to also factor in the cost of production, since that is one of the guiding principles. Then of course, there are other overheads like the booksellers' discount, the author's royalty, corporate tax and profit for the publisher, all of which, together with staff and miscellaneous costs, have to be factored into the retail price of a book.
Some of India's printers' critics have opined that their books come unstuck too easily because the quality of binding is low but that is an argument that could as well be applied to printers in Kenya, for many of whom delivering quality work on deadline is alien. Often, one finds himself repeating instructions over and over even in writing, but the final work only approximates the needs of the client.
The long and short of it is that printers in Kenya will need to up their game, review their pricing and commitment to confidentiality if they are to continue winning business from local publishers who demand quality work. For, if Kenyan publishers are to compete fairly with foreign ones, they have no choice but to demand quality service from printers.

Hip hip, hurray! Novel marks a milestone

Ladies and gentlemen, it is now one year and one day since the novel, Different Colours rolled off the press.
In the course of that one year, a great of exciting things have happened, some of which are worth celebrating while others are simply lessons that we have learnt and which have equipped us with wisdom for the future. 
One of the things that have made me really happy is seeing the many grins of satisfaction from the readers who have had an encounter with the novel whose first draft, it might interest you to know, was completed on December 1, 2007. Interestingly, the book would not see the light of day until May 2011 when it was published by Big Books Ltd. One of the first bookshops to stock the book ran out of supplies in three days but it is yet to restock a year down the line, which I find a very curious thing for any business to do.
One of the things that we are proud to share is that one lecturer at Egerton University chose the book for his fresher class at Laikipia Campus and last month I had the privilege of sharing three hours with the students. I was gratified by their grasp of the issues the book tackles and from our debate I can tell you that what I saw and what I heard left me with no doubt that we will soon be seeing the emergence of a new crop of literary critics that will make all of us sit up and take notice. One lecturer at the University of Nairobi, who I personally think has done more for literature than some institutions, read the book and mentioned it to curriculum developers.
My own view has always been to stay away from the school market but this scholar was saying in effect that this is a book that the youth ought to read. I can see where he is coming from, seeing that one of the over-arching themes in the novels is national healing (as in Different Colours, One People) and how to mobilize for change through social media.
By the way, as I watched the Arab Spring, just weeks after the novel was published, I couldn't help but marvel at how life sometimes imitates art. Since that time, I have slightly revised my position on the school market. And what I have said is this: If this book is going to help the young people in schools develop a worthy set of national values, I would be happy to play a role in that regard. But I still believe that this is a book that adults ought to read. In the recent past, we have been engaged in a process that would see the book and others in the Big Books stable, available in the Kindle and iBook format but the process is taking longer than expected. Although it is a month behind schedule, we do hope that the titles will be available this month, so watch this space.
Lastly, our next title is scheduled to roll off the press this month. Yes, you heard that correctly and the news will be broken right here! For those of you who would like to read Different Colours, you can get your copy from Book Point, Bookstop and Book Waves in Nairobi or any bookshop in Nakuru (Nakuru booksellers have been very supportive probably because charity begins at home), Moi University Bookshop, Eldoret, Egerton University Bookshop, Laikipia and of course from the author himself. But if there is a bookshop near you, ask them to get the book for you.
 A copy is only Sh450/=

Shoot me a pirate, they kill literary creativity

Piracy remains one of the biggest challenges facing the publishing industry in Kenya today.
Not so long ago, a publisher confiscated 23,000 copies of a Swahili novel that had been pirated by... hold your breath... his printer! Despite attempts by other industry players to publicise the matter, the affected publisher opted for a settlement with the offending printer. But today, the publishing industry made a decision, during its Annual General Meeting, to blacklist the printer and others who were named during the meeting.
And on this one, I believe writers and publishers fight from the same corner. When one's books are pirated, this means that the writer will not benefit from his creativity while the publisher will lose out on his investment. The only person who gains is the pirate but he gains by riding with impunity on the books of people who have laboured honestly to make books possible.
What is more galling is that mainstream printers are engaged in the malpractice yet one would assume that these are the institutions that should be at the forefront of protecting their businesses with publishers.
But by making the decision to stop doing business with rogue printers, the publishers are sending a clear and unequivocal message that it will no longer be business as usual. You steal from me and the association members will stop doing business with you. it is a simple choice really.
The next stop now will be to deal with booksellers who stock pirated books. Once the rogue printers have been run out of town, the writing will be on the wall for booksellers especially if publishers can agree to share information on who are the culprits. Already, the small scale booksellers who display their books on the streets have started staying away from pirated books after they were threatened with arrest. Now the big boys are in the cross hairs.
Even as we encourage readers to buy books, we must add the rider that all of us - reader included - will be much happier if we bought the genuine article. After all, most literary books are not so costly as to be unaffordable.

Portrait of a writer as self-publisher

The whole story of self-publishing in Kenya is yet to be told.
Methinks it probably dates before David Maillu, who probably remains the most famous self-published author in Kenya for his books like After 4.30, My Dear Bottle, The Flesh, No! and other such titles that titillated youthful and adult readers alike in the last two decades before his company, Maillu Publishing House, started disappearing from the publishing radar screen.
Of course, Ngumi Kibera remains the other well known self-published author because his book of short stories, The Grapevine Stories, won the Jomo Kenyatta Literature Prize in 1997. And in the fiction class, there is also myself.
But there are other writers who started off in self-publishing but have gone on to found credible publishing companies. Murori Kiunga, author of many self-help and business books easily comes to mind as does Mbugua wa Mumbi, also a motivation speaker and writer whose most famous book is probably Excuse Me, Your Dream is Calling You.
In recent years, some poets have also gone into self-publishing, the most notable of them being Caroline Nderitu who self-published her book, Love Only, about five years ago and now also engages in teaching public speaking.
In between these diverse categories of self-published authors are others who have done limited editions of various books, including biographies, sermons, family histories and other non-fiction work. Not all of them have been profitable and probably too few of them were meant to be. But they are all adding to the vibrant cultural scene that has spawned a fledgling culture of alternative writing and publishing.
Their, I believe, is a story that would make for good reading, considering that many of them are people who have had life-changing experiences that motivated them or have equally colourful personality traits.
The question is: Who will take the time to write this story and trace its growth and influence?

Please buy books, but not from Amazon if you can

Why is the US Justice Department taking on Apple in the war over the prices of e-books? Is it because the company has embraced the agency model which allows publishers to set prices while Apple keeps a percentage of the retail price? Forgive my ignorance but what is wrong with this model?
And why is there a perception that the wholesale model adopted by Amazon is better for the book industry yet Amazon gets to keep 65 per cent of a book's cover price while the author and publisher share the remaining 35 per cent? Is this fair to the writers and publishers? And where does that leave the two when they have to sell their books through an intermediary?
I am asking this because from where I sit, I am of the view that the Apple model is the lesser evil. Apple gets to keep 30 per cent from each book sold, which is the standard for booksellers even here in Kenya. The writer, publisher and intermediary can agree on how to share the rest. What's more, the likelihood of books being fairly priced is increased because all those involved in the chain can find comfortable margins that they can work with without fleecing readers, which means that even readers benefit and, therefore, have a reason to return for future purchases if they get value for money.
But if my briefing is correct, and I have no reason to believe it is not, if Amazon catches you selling your book at a lower price, say on e-bay for instance, it will withdraw it from its stock. I may be from Africa but is this the done thing in a free market economy? The impression I take away from this is that Amazon, with all due respect to its accomplishments and contribution to literature, is acting as a policeman. And now look what the Justice Department has gone and done.
True, all the players are still trying to define the rules of the game going forward but from the look of things, the referee appears to have worn one of the team's uniforms and I am not making this claim with any prejudice. In Kenya, we say we need a level playing field.
As a writer I would be glad if my books were available at Amazon. That would be a wow moment for me. But then again, if they were to be available in other outlets, say Kobo or B&N for the same price, I would need a great deal of persuasion to refrain from telling my readers: "Yes, please, you can buy my books online but not from Amazon if you can help it."
Can someone please tell me my fears are misplaced and that this is not what it looks like?

Motivation, like charity, begins at home

Not so long ago, I got an inquiry from a self-published author who has written a book guiding readers on how to scale the heights of business success. He wanted his book reviewed in the newspapers. I put him in touch with an editor and a book reviewer and that, I thought, was that. Until earlier this week when I received a call from him.
"I want to thank you," he said cheerfully, "for helping me get my book reviewed." I was mighty glad I had been of help and even more glad that he had remembered to say thank you. But then again, shouldn't he. He is, after all, a motivation writer and speaker.
"You are welcome," I said and as an afterthought asked how much the book was going for.
"Sh1,000 (about 12 dollars)," he said. I was intrigued. I wanted to see the book. For slightly over half that amount, I could buy a Robert Kiyosaki. For about that much I could buy Flipnosis by Kevin Dutton or Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell or even Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich (all which I would recommend any day). Plus, of course, I know something about the costing of books. I am after all in that business too and my immediate thought was that he was overpricing the book, with the risk of motivating people to walk away from it.
I asked to meet him, which I just did a few minutes ago and, as one writer in the current issue of Newsweek put it, I felt like I had received a blow in the solar plexus.
I happened to have heard one journalist groaning about that book recently.
"The introduction takes almost a fifth of the pages," she had lamented. "Ok, the book has a point but you really have to be patient to get it".
The less I talk about the design and the editing the better for all of us.
"How come you are selling this book for so much?" I asked him, changing my mind about buying it.
"That is the price they are buying it at," he said confidently. I must give it to him, he has wonderfully white teeth and a killer smile - which reminded me of Otuk Ruk, the ever smiling character in Okot p'Bitek's novel, White Teeth. The only problem with the sunlight smile that it attracts attention to the big smudge of dirt on his golden tie.
Do I want to be motivated? Oh yes! By this motivational writer and speaker? Not by a long shot!

To give or not to give literary prizes?

This is the Pulitzer season the US but writers, publishers and booksellers are mourning after the Pulitzer board declined to give an award to any of the shortlisted books. The decision has made history because it is only the tenth time that this has happened. Writers and publishers are scratching their heads trying to come up with an explanation to the board's decision. Is it that America did not produce books that were not worth awarding? Is that the books that were shortlisted did not meet the cut? Is it that the board of three members, which is required to make a decision based on majority, could not agree?
Of course they have no answers but their decision has sparked considerable soul searching and a probably similar amount of tantrum-throwing in American publishing.
But what are the lessons for Kenya?
A few years back, the judges of the Jomo Kenyatta Prize, the biggest in Kenya, failed to name a winner but wen on to do a very curios thing: name a runner up! Their decision caused uproar but at least they told the publishing industry that in their estimation, there was no book that deserved the award that year. Did publishers learn from the judges.
Has the number of outstanding works of fiction published in Kenya increased? Have there been books that have generated debate, excited readers, inspired reading and tantalised book sellers? And what has been the quality and quantity of creative works that have come out of Kenya's publishing industry, say, in the last five years?
Well, I cannot purport to have answers to those questions. May be what we need is someone to undertake research and tell the rest of us just how many novels have been published and why they are important and, if possible, also tell us why we should go out and buy them.

Borrow a leaf from London Book Fair

The London Book Fair opens it's doors to the public today and already it is generating considerable buzz online as well as in other fora, particularly the media. One of the highlights of the fair this year is that it is focusing on China, which means that publishers in Britain are looking to the Asian country as a potential market. And the wisdom of such a decision is not difficult to fathom. Even the Frankfurt Book Fair regularly look outside the German borders for a guest country to feature. Not so long ago, turkey was the guest country and one of it's leading writers, Orhan Pamuk, was given German's highest literary Prize. China was also featured as a guest country shortly after that. In Kenya, however, publishers have over the last fourteen years looked inwards, rather than outwards, which has meant that even foreign exhibitors remain in the peripheries of the Nairobi International Book Fair which is held every September. Secondly, the fair has been positioned as something for schools and school parties and even the adults who show up are largely not readers in their own right but parents hunting for bargains for school books. The London Book Fair is mainly focused on the creative market inviting top writers not only from Europe but also Asia. And what's more, besides attracting readers, it is offering an auction market where small publishers can offer some of their rights for sale to those with bigger financial biceps. What this means is that both the writers and publishers have something to look forward as they can buy and sell books to each other and discover new partnerships for the growth of their businesses. In sharp contrast, most of the activities lined up for the Nairobi International Book Fair consists of children's activities. Even when there are high profile book launches, they do not feature individual writers but entire series. Two years ago, I attended one such launch during which 70 titles were launched in the space of one hour. What's more, the guests were addressed by the wrong speaker, an assistant minister who had been invited for the launch of an academic book. The confusion dawn after he unveiled the books and was surprised that the title he had been talking about was not there! It is worth noting that the London publishers have even commissioned an opinion poll in which they were asking whether the public thinks digital publishing will trump traditional publishing. As one would expect, this has generated a heated debate in the wake of the ongoing competition between companies like Apple and Amazon over the pricing of ebooks and ebook readers. Of course, Kenyans literary history is much shorter than Britain's but then again, that is why it can learn some valuable lessons from London.

Who is the most progressive in the book business?

Of all the players in the book publishing chain, methinks government institutions are the most progressive. Consider this.
In January, I got an LPO to supply books to a public institution. I delivered the books early February. In early April, the institution sent money, by Electronic Cash Transfer, to the company account. That is scenario one. Scenario two. In 2010, I travelled 300 kilometers to deliver books to a bookshop after numerous correspondences by email. Three months later, I emailed severally to inquire about the progress of the sales. No response. In December, I heard from the bookshop. They had sent me a Christmas card.
Scenario three. In 2009, I went to a bookshop in Nairobi and asked if they would stock Terrorists of The Aberdare. The manager said: "Give us a sample copy and one week." One week later, the ordered 16 copies, which was fair enough. The following year, after publishing Different Colours, we sold 16 copies to a foreign institution based in Nairobi. A day later, I went to the same Nairobi bookshop and asked the same question. The manager said: "Give us a sample copy and one week". A week later, he said: "Sorry, we are not interested".
But this is not just an affliction among booksellers. In 2005, I submitted a manuscript with a publisher. Five years later, I submitted the same manuscript to another publisher. A year later, the second publisher calls and says: "Please come and have a look at the dummies. We are going to press at 2 pm". He had called at noon. I called the first publisher to withdraw the manuscript.
"You can't," he said. "And why not?" I asked. "Because it is being printed as we speak," he said.
"But I have not seen the dummies and we have not signed a contract!" I protested. "We are very sorry,"he said.
"We forgot to inform you." Of course, I had to call the second publisher to apologise and call off the deal. Scenario four. A month ago, I got a call from a fellow writer.
"I have just come from some government office (name withheld) and they have a list of ten books they want to look at and some of them are yours but they don't know where to get you. Please get in touch with them."
The prospect is promising.
And it came just like that!

A publishing hero in his own way

Today, I bumped into a young man who is engaged in a unique model of publishing. After failing to make it as a journalist back in the early 2000s, he started doing profiles for church leaders. What he did was simple. He would approach pastors and ask them if they have a story or sermon that they wanted to share with their congregation in writing. He then interviews them and writes their stories. Then he gets an editor and graphic designer to work on the projects. He is paid for his service, as are the other guys in the chain and they go to press, after which the pastors sell their publications to their congregations. Now, he is doing a profile of a businessman who overcome great odds to become successful. Methinks it is a good thing he did not become a journalist for if he had, who would be providing the service? He is one of the true heroes of publishing as he is helping people to tell their own stories although he is yet to make the big bucks. But as happens with these things, it is only a matter of time before he gets his big break. Then the rest of us will be left thinking that he became successful overnight.

Welcome to the new home of Kenyan writers

Welcome to Big Books Blog. I know we have taken a tad too long to get here but now that we are, we can get down to business. And we have a great deal to talk about seeing that so much is happening in the world of books, from the way stories are written and published to the way they are sold to readers. In Kenya, we have seen self publishing emerging as a trend that is catching on especially among young writers and motivational authors and speakers. What does this trend portend for the bigger publishing industry that is estimated at Sh10 billion a year? Will it affect the way publishers relate with authors or will it be business as usual? And what can be done to bring more people into contact with the books born and brought out in Kenya? Can we raise the readership numbers? And if the answer is yes, what need we to do to make this a reality? Who are the Kenyan authors worth watching? What are they writing and publishing? Where can you find their work? These are some of the questions we will be exploring as we take this journey of exploration and discovery together. We have made the first tentative step and we are looking forward to your support on this journey. Welcome on board!