One Saturday morning, about a decade ago, Muthoni wa Gichuru travelled all the way from Embu to Nairobi. She had read in the newspaper about AMKA Forum, a place where writers and those who want to be writers interacted, an opportunity she considered rare and precious.
All I wanted that time was to sit at corner and listen as stories and poems were discussed,” the author of several titles including Breaking the Silence, The Hidden Package and The Carving, recalls.
Muthoni never imagined that one day she would be host at the forum, which is organised by AMKA (Swahili for ‘Wake Up’) and the Goethe Institut in the Goethe-Institut library every last Saturday of the month. AMKA is a forum for upcoming writers and literary critics to share and discuss stories, poems and current literature trends with the aim of enhancing their creativity. The forum provides a space to listen to the voices of established and budding writers.
This month’s guest at the forum is Jennie Marima, who has a number of children and young adult storybooks published, notably: The Secret Wish (1st Runners-Up, 2021 Jomo Kenyatta Prize – Children’s Category), Trio Troubles (2019 Text Book Centre Jomo Kenyatta Prize – Children’s Category Winner) and Just This Once (Finalist, 2017 Burt Award for Young Adult Literature). Others include: Kitty Cat and Other Stories, The High Road, Rundo the Elephant, Hello, Super Sarah and the Lost Baby and most recently, Strange Happenings.
Muthoni wa Gichuru will be the host, and the moderators are Tony Mochama and Dr Tom Odhiambo from the University of Nairobi.
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