A bigger and better Kampala literature festival

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WHAT’S UP!

Literature festivals have several benefits to the countries that host them, including cultural and economic. They bring together writers, readers and intellectuals from different backgrounds. Festivals also attract tourists and foreign visitors, generating revenue for local businesses and stimulating economic growth.

And of course, they provide opportunities for the country’s writers to showcase their work, gain recognition and connect with literary agents and publishers. So, it is a real wonder that, until last year, Uganda had never had a literature festival. Conferences, yeah; but a literature festival? Nah.

But if the Kampala Writes LitFest held last week at Yusuf Lule Auditorium, Makerere University is anything to go by, we are on the right track. The main organisers, the Goethe-Zentrum (The German Cultural Society), are doubtlessly still crunching the numbers, but the attendance was way above the estimated 300 that attended last year.

For one, the estimated capacity of the Yusuf Lule Auditorium is around 600. And, at least for the opening day, which featured the keynote address by UK-based Ugandan writer Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, it was filled to capacity. Add for all the three days of the festival, 1,000 would be a conservative estimate.

These are still baby steps, of course; compared, say, to the Buenos Aires International Book Fair, one of the largest in the world, with over a million visitors. Or the more established festivals in Africa, like Nigeria’s Ake Festival (founded in 2013), South Africa’s Time of the Writer International Festival (1996), or even the Nairobi Litfest (2021).

The theme of the 2025 Kampala Writes LitFest was Belonging, and it was explored in various ways by several panel discussions that featured diverse writers and authors from both Uganda and abroad.

In her keynote address, Makumbi described her journey as a writer, starting from an avid reader as a child, to a search for belonging that led her to become a full-time writer. There were panel discussions on different aspects of the writing industry, including perspectives from academia, and a very animated discussion on funding for the arts, especially literature.

The existence or not of a ready market for writers is one of the largest handicaps in Uganda, and a Sunday morning discussion explored publishing strategies and ways to navigate through them.

There was a noticeable presence of authors from outside Uganda, which led to questions about whether one needs to go abroad to be successful as a writer. Which one member of the audience referred to as ‘developing an accent’.

Saturday afternoon saw a book launch, where Goretti Kyomuhendo and UK-based Ugandan author Nicka Makoha read and launched their books, Promises and The New Carthaginians, respectively.

On the side was a bustling book fair where hundreds of books were on sale, and authors on hand to autograph them.

There were also master classes in poetry, film script writing and creative writing for secondary school students. It also featured poetic performances from Carolyne ‘Afroetry’ Acen and Ghanaian writer Nii Ayikwei Parkes. Lilian Maximillian Nabaggala gave a contemporary dance performance, and the festival ended with a remembrance of the late Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiongo, with a performance from his play I’ll Marry When I Want by the Yenze Theatre Conservatoire.

Curated by the director of the African Writers Trust, Goretti Kyomuhendo, and organised by Goethe Zentrum Kampala in partnership with the British Council and Makerere University, the second edition of the Kampala Writes LitFest was generally taken to be a successful one.

Writing and literature in Uganda has always been on the peripheral of life; and often dismissed as ‘unrealistic’. While performing arts like music and drama are more visible and interactive with the public, writing has been described as a lonely endeavour, and writers are notoriously introspective.

But for three days (and a night at the British High Commissioner’s residence, which served as an opening night of sorts), writing took centre stage.

Mercy Kirui is a Kenyan publisher and literary agent. She probably spoke for many when she said that while the Kampala Writes LitFest is still young, ‘it has made strong strides toward the stature of more established events such as Nairobi’s NBO LitFest, the African Book Fair, the Macondo Literary Festival and Nigeria’s Ake Festival’.

It may be only two years old, but this baby has definitely hit the ground running. Can’t wait for the 3rd edition in 2026.

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