News

October 1, 2021

Makumbi, Wheatle and Adeola shortlisted for Diverse Book Awards

  Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, Alex Wheatle, Dapo Adeola and Nathan Bryon are among those shortlisted for the Diverse Book Awards, celebrating inclusive titles across adult, YA […]
May 30, 2021

Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi and Patrice Lawrence win Jhalak prizes for writers of colour

Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi has won this year’s Jhalak prize for writers of colour with her novel The First Woman, with Patrice Lawrence winning the award’s inaugural children’s […]
March 4, 2021

Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi advises against Kwani Trust edition of “Kintu.”

While the Manchester-based Ugandan has moved on to bigger and better things, her first novel Kintu has had mixed success on the continent for her. While the book […]
January 6, 2021

Aljazeera: Best of 2020: The top books by African writers

Who do you turn to when the adults will not answer your questions and your spirit leaves your body? In Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s second novel, you […]
January 6, 2021

New African Magazine: 100 Most Influential Africans of 2020

Uganda’s Chinua Achebe Jennifer Makumbi’s new novel, The First Woman, published this year has received a rapturous reception both from critics as well as from her […]
December 24, 2020

Electric Literature: A Coming-of-Age Novel that Weaves Ugandan Folklore and African Feminism

For girls growing up in India, there are several names used for our vaginas: susu, nunoo, and perhaps most tellingly, “shame-shame.” As in, “Close your legs, your […]
December 8, 2020

A Girl Is a Body of Water in OZY Best Books of 2020

Every year when the holidays roll around, many of us get a rare, much-needed break from the world. In this issue of OZY’s Weekender we want […]
November 11, 2020

Jennifer Makumbi Among Contenders For 2020 Aspen Words Literary Prize

The 15 nominees for this year’s Aspen Words Literary Prize span the globe and the headlines — from Uganda to Palestine to Miami to rural North […]
September 26, 2020

Washington Post: ‘A Girl Is a Body of Water’ is a poignant coming-of-age tale about women’s hard-won wisdom

Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi sets her blazing new novel, “A Girl Is a Body of Water,” in the conflicted nation of her adolescence: 1970s Uganda, under the […]