What power do editors have in steering a writer’s career? What are the real value of winning literary prizes such as the Kwani! manuscript project? What challenges do African writers encounter when attempting to publish literary fiction that exclude the white gaze?
Our guest Jennifer Nansubuga Mamukbi, award winning author whose novels include Kintu (pronounced ChinTu), The First Woman (published as A Girl Is A Body of Water in the USA), and the short Story collection, Manchester Happened (published as Let’s Tell This Story Properly in the USA) situate Ugandan mythology in the fictional narrative of historical and contemporary Ugandan experiences.
We use the music of Miriam Makeba, Queen, Eddy Kenzo, Tracy Chapman, Krizbeatz x Teni and more to explore Makumbi’s experience of being published, the real value of winning the Kwani! manuscript project & how it defined her writing career, why writers must to invest in good editors, and we also discuss her response to that introductory essay to the USA edition of Kintu.
Listen to Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s curated playlist on Spotify, and Deezer.
Follow @booksandrhymes on Twitter and Instagram to stay informed on the latest news on classic and contemporary books by writers of African descent. We would love it if you share your thoughts & tag us in your social media posts of this episode.
The song you heard in the intro and outro of this podcast is titled: Reset by Meakoom (Meakoom) link to her music is available on Bandcamp
Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi's Bibliography:
- Kintu
- Manchester Happened (Published as Let's Tell This Story Properly in the USA)
- The First Woman - (Published as A Girl Is a Body of Water in the USA)
Books discussed and referenced in this episode:
- Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream to The Sun – Sarah Ladipo Manyika
- The Famished Road – Ben Okri
- God's Bits of Wood - Sembene Ousmane
- Lives of Great Men - Chike Frankie Edozien
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