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Here are this year’s prized page-turners

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Ms Stella Tusasibwe of Uganda Bookshop brandishes President Museveni’s book. It is still one of the bestselling books in the country. PHOTO | PHILIP MATOGO

Uganda’s literary scene has been compared to a desert in the past. However, that past is surely past as a battalion of books have fought their way onto the creative scene and turned it into an oasis. In this regard, 2024 was an especially good year for Ugandan books. But which books really marked this year out as the year of the book?

“From experience and also from what I see, what has been trending as far as Uganda’s literary scene is concerned, I would think that Prof [Samwiri Lwanga] Lunyiigo’s Uganda an Indian colony is doing well on the market. Of course, there are also novels and short stories by Jennifer Makumbi, they are doing well,” says Watson Atukwatse, the director of the African Studies Bookstore.

“But historical books are forever going to be marked on Uganda’s literary and historical scene. Books by Prof Karugire [namely] The Political History of Uganda, books by Phares Mutibwa such as the First Hundred Years of Uganda, books on our kingdoms, history of Buganda, history of Nkore, history of Kigezi, history of Bunyoro, history of Acholi, histories of Karamoja, Busoga…all these books…on our kingdoms are forever going to be trending and topping Uganda’s publishing sector and the book market at large because they don’t expire and everyone will need this information forever,” he adds.

Revival

Mr Atukwatse explained why the literary industry is burgeoning in the manner in which it is doing.

“The literary scene in Uganda is developing and improving every other day, the quality of print is really good now, the quality of editing, and the design and also the quality of writing itself have somehow improved. But it really depends because there are so many books which are coming out,” he notes.

“I think the religious groups and Pentecostal churches are releasing so many books and we don’t know who is reading or what the quality of these books is. Every day in the whole country we have 10 new books or five new books coming out, maybe somebody can check the statistics. But every day I see a new book coming on the market. So that is hope. We can talk about the quality but surely there is a lot that is coming out,” he further offers.

Mr Atukwatse also notes that poetry collections and a canon that includes novels and short stories have also received a shot in the arm this year.

“There has been a change in the industry since 2013 or 2014 when I started being more active in most of the literary circles because of my interest in reading and publishing. Way back then, the literary sector was as if someone owns it. There was the big brother mentality where someone is writing somewhere or they write a column in The Monitor or they run a literary organisation, they thought they owned the literary sector,” he observed, adding: “So they [thought] are the ones in charge of the literature, festivals or the poetry performances in the country. So if you came in, questions would be asked like ‘Who are you?’ ‘Why are you interfering with our space?’ But all that today has disappeared. In the literary sector today, it is like everyone is part of this growing movement.”

2024 bestsellers

At Uganda Bookshop, books sold well too. In terms of popularity, “There is that one, The Day Museveni Goes [by journalist Joe Nam], Born in Africa: The Story of Philly Bongoley Lutaaya [by Author, Andrew Ssempala Ssengendo], Sowing the Mustard Seed [by President Museveni], Countering Terror: The Law As A Potent Antidote by John Ngaruye Ndungutse [all sold well],” says Stella Tusasibwe, a marketing officer at Uganda Bookshop.

At Vuka Books, the story was slightly different.

“We don’t sell Ugandan authors because of the way we are structured. We mostly sell books from outside for charitable reasons. And so our books are relatively cheaper on the market, while Ugandan authors are expensive to buy. The most expensive book you’ll find here is an encyclopaedia at Shs50,000. We don’t have very expensive books. All our novels are between Shs15,000 to Shs30,000 and yet most of the Ugandan authors, even if it’s a children’s book, you’ll find it at Shs35,000 and yet children’ books we are selling here are Shs5,000, Shs10,000,” says Annette Tabo, the supervisor.

Zenah ThePoet, a top-selling poet with more than 10,000 books sold, demurred. She says Ugandan bookshops give Ugandan writers a bill of goods, as it were.

“I tried Ugandan bookshops but alas! I would rather watch my books rot in my home library,” she said.

Other top books

At Aristoc Bookshop, Sowing the Mustard Seed: The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in Uganda by Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is a bestseller.

The Nnaabagereka Queen Sylvia Nagginda Luswata: Life. Passion. Duty. Queen by Sylvia Nagginda Luswata is also hot on the market. So is Endurance, which offers an intimate narrative of General Katumba Wamala's life journey, spanning from his earliest beginnings to his ongoing endeavours.

The Bell is Ringing, Martin Aliker’s Story is also doing well. So too is the Uganda Martyrs: Story of Faith, Inspiration & Celebration, a book about the 45 Christian converts who were martyred in the late 19th Century in Buganda Kingdom, modern-day Uganda.

Where Faith Lit The Way, is a memoir of courage penned by Watoto's founder, Ps Gary M Skinner and it also sells. Totems of Uganda: Buganda Edition, a book about the symbiotic relationship between man and the animal kingdom is also hot off the press.

Jacqueline Asiimwe’s Facing Mountains, a lyrical narrative where the grandeur of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya mirrors the profound challenges of life, is racking up takers. Also, Destined by Irene T Kauma sells well, and Born to Win: From Bastardhood to Generalship, a book by Maj Gen George Igumba that tells the story of his journey from obscurity to prominence, is a surefire literary winner.

THE TREND

Revival

‘‘There has been a change in the industry since 2013 or 2014 when I started being more active in most of the literary circles because of my interest in reading and publishing. Way back then, the literary sec[1]tor was as if someone owns it,’’ Mr Watson Atukwatse