Latest Article

Date
October 6, 2026

East African Comic Artists Draw New Worlds — and New Possibilities for the Industry

The question of how stories move beyond their place of origin was also central to Grivel’s contribution to the exhibition programme.“Be self-confident about your culture and where you come from if you want to see your stories travel.” His advice is to begin with what they know rather than attempting to make their work conform to an imagined international audience.Manga offers one example of how stories rooted in a particular cultural context can find readers around the world. Their international reach demonstrates that cultural specificity need not be a barrier to wider appeal. For Grivel, the connection lies in emotion. A story may emerge from a particular place, culture or experience, but the feelings it explores can resonate with readers elsewhere.

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Filter

Click on the category to filter
Books Reviews
Featured
Author Profiles
Young Writers
Podcasts
Newsletter
Events
Book Serialisation

Keep up with the latest from Books In Africa

* indicates required
Featured
Date:
June 12, 2026
By
Tracy Ochieng

Theatre is like juggling multiple balls at once. You’re in character, but you’re also aware of the audience, your scene partners, and the technical aspects of the show. Occasionally, there’s a moment—maybe fifteen minutes in a two-hour performance—when everything aligns, and you’re fully inside the character. Those moments are magical.

Read  More
Book Serialisation
Date:
June 9, 2026
By
Isabella Kamau

In Thegio Location of Nyeri, where the resistance burned hottest, Senior Chief Waithaje met a brutal death beneath a Mukuyu tree—fifty men against one, his loyalty to the colonial authorities sealing his fate. To the government, he was a hero. To the Mau Mau, a traitor.

Read  More
Date:
June 5, 2026
By
Edith Temba

The artists talked about issues facing Kenya, from the economy, to the taxes, to the capitation funds, the debts, the abductions, and the violence.

Read  More
Book Serialisation
Date:
June 2, 2026
By
Isabella Kamau

That evening, when he returned, their home felt different—both warmer and heavier. And in the quiet of that small room, as the winds stirred the grass outside and the fire crackled its last, Ekeno clung to her like a man holding onto the last piece of a beautiful dream. He knew his days as a passive observer were ending. Soon, he would join the movement—quietly at first, then fully, body and soul. And if fate demanded it, he would give everything for her, for their unborn children, for the land that had raised him.

Read  More
Featured
Date:
May 28, 2026
By
Kari Mutu

Shiko’s passion for books began in childhood. As a child, she would sometimes fake being unwell at school just so she could sit in the secretary’s office and read the books kept there.

Read  More
Book Serialisation
Date:
May 28, 2026
By
David G. Maillu

Kavuki earned a new name—Queen of the Village; this was because they felt she had become the model of the village. She was consulted on various issues, but the conservative village church remained undecided on whether to declare her a woman of God or something else. Her single way of living symbolised great temptation. They would rather hear she was under MuthengI's care. But religious or not, Kavuki had many people who defended her. More voices were coming up to say, "Kavuki is a modern woman."

Read  More