Celebrating Ugandan writing with festival

There is a saying that to hide a thing from a Ugandan, you put it in a book. The belief is that most Ugandans do not want to read, and apparently, it is not a good idea to choose writing as a calling.

Yet, many young Ugandans are still choosing to write; many of these have found ways of leaving Uganda, later getting writing deals and essentially making a living as writers, while those who stayed in Uganda somehow found ways of making it through a system that barely supports them.

And this is the story of the Kampala Writes Lit Fest, which is starting today at the Onomo Hotel in Kampala. The festival is an extension to the Christmas Book Fair that Goethe Zentrum has been organising every December.

Goretti Kyomuhendo, the curator of the Kampala Writes Lit Fest, says, like any other festival, this too seeks to celebrate writers and literature.

“Many writers work in isolation; this is about knowing and celebrating what they have been up to. This is also about encouraging the culture of reading by bringing the work closer to the people,” she says.

Ugandan writers have been celebrated, but mainly by those close to the art. Some festivals have also been curated over the years, but many have been specific. Some focused on poetry, while others, at the end of the day, had more foreign writers than the locals.

But the festival is not only bringing together writers; they are bringing together readers as well and those curious about the art generally.

“We are not speaking to the converted; it is a celebration with book lovers, readers—readers are the most important people in the book chain,” Kyomuhendo says.

She says that the festival seeks to celebrate writers across the different spectrums of the art, such as novelists, children's book authors, journalists, as well as organisations with in the art, teachers, and publishers.

To celebrate the diversity of storytelling, the first edition has included poetry and film.

Local filmmaker Malcolm Bigyemano’s short film Mawe will be showcased at the festival. The film is about everything that could go wrong in a day, told in a snappy nature. The narrative film has two storylines that find a connection, revealing betrayal and surprising twists.

This edition is themed Writing Our Truth, whose focus is on Ugandan writers’ experiences; as Kyomuhendo says, “we want to keep it local; we want to present what concerns a Ugandan writer.”

“Most festivals have always focused on the international writers, but we are looking at celebrating our own, such as Okot P’Bitek and Susan Kiguli,” she adds.

The festival will also feature book readings and sales as well as panel discussions which seek to address some of the issues writers are facing.

The festival is an extension on Goethe Zentrum’s popular book fair but at the same time, it is a bid to give literature in Uganda a home, something it has not had since many of the platforms that embarrassed the art ceased to exist after Covid-19.