The conference hosted by Kwani trust which began last Sunday, the twelfth of December at Kifaru garden ended yesterday, the Seventeen of December, in Nairobi, Kenya. Kwani trust got the prince Claus award for their work of bringing up teenagers who spearhead writing as their profession. Prof. Ngugi wa Thiong’o got homage too with celebrity.
From the conference the following deductions are evident:
“Publishing house is not Magical. Anybody who needs assistance as a writer can deliver their manuscript despite their social backgrounds,†a publisher encouraged writers.
“Funding is the major setback to publishing of new books,†deduced from speeches delivered by various writers at the conference.
“Writers give their manuscripts and need to get it published tomorrow. It’s a process, they should wait,†partly quoted as a complaint from a publisher.
“There’s no school of writing, is it there?†withdrawn from an answer to the question of qualification in writing by a famous female writer.
“Writers begin writing if something burns from within them and need to express it,†taken from various speeches given by successful writers.
“Curiosity makes good writers,†shone in the words of successful writers and the olden ones.
“Current Kenya is better then the olden Kenya of neocolonialism and Mau Mau,†evidenced in the stories of struggle by writers. “If these refugees are here, then Kenya is now Kenya,†said a female writer in her speech on the first day of the conference.
“I came to learn my father being a writer after reading ‘The grain of wheat.’ I got used to how to write. “When I read ‘The River between’ I became an expert,†said an essayist, a journalist and an author.
I call it grace if the successful can look back to training teenagers who need writing. Kwani trust continues with its work. Wish this becomes the tradition of all journals and publishers world wide. It makes it easier for the young writers to learn and succeed in the battle.
Kwani trust holds an open Mic where they welcome poets and word spoken artists every Tuesday each month in Nairobi at club soundd on Kaunda street from 7-9 pm. The rest of the evening becomes open to anyone. Sign ups happen from5-7 pm.
There is a great welcome, yonder.