At Books in Africa, we join the rest of the world in mourning the loss of one of Africa’s greatest literary minds. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o was not just a writer: he was a truth-teller, a revolutionary, and a literary pioneer whose words built bridges between peoples and cultures across the world.

But if Ngũgĩ taught us anything, it’s this: the centre must shift. Books in Africa believes that African bestsellers should be celebrated first on African soil, in African languages, by our own readers. For too long, our literary giants have had to be validated abroad before they are embraced at home. That story must change.

We honour Ngũgĩ’s legacy by continuing his lifelong fight to liberate the African imagination, and to make our stories undeniable — first at home, then everywhere else.

Rest in power, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. 

— Books in Africa