Zukiswa Wanner & Elias Mutani are running a bilingual KiSwahili and English short story writing workshop from 4-9 July 2022 hosted by the Goethe Institut and the Alliance Française. The event is part of a series of Africa-based events curated by Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangaremgba.

Interested authors are invited to submit short stories of between 2,000-3,000 words, in English or KiSwahili, for a chance to take part in a week’s Masterclass.

The Masterclass is open to writers based in East Africa only, specifically the countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Submissions will go through a first draft edit via email before final selection of participants who are expected to be in Nairobi during the week of the Masterclass at their own cost (suggestions will be provided for low-cost accommodation).

Participants in the Masterclass will have the opportunity of being published in two anthologies with KiSwahili stories translated into English and English stories translated in KiSwahili. The Masterclass that will be facilitated by Elias Mutani (KiSwahili) and Zukiswa Wanner (English) along with guest visits/readings from Tsitsi Dangarembga and the University of East Anglia’s Director of Creative Writing Jean McNeil.

Submissions should be made via email to [email protected].

Deadline: Midnight East African Time on 9 May, 2022.

About the Facilitators:

Zukiswa Wanner is the author of four novels, three children’s books and two books of nonfiction. As a publisher, Wanner has worked with authors like Kenya’s Mukoma wa Ngugi, Nokuthula Mazibuko Msimang from South Africa and Angolan Yara Nakahanda Monteiro. She also founded and curated Artistic Encounters and the virtual literary festival Afrolit Sans Frontieres which has since morphed to Virtually Yours.

Elias Mutani has facilitated creative writing workshops and mentored the younger generation of authors. He was a juror in Kalahari short story competition for writers using Kiswahili, French or English in Africa as well as a juror for various writing competitions in Tanzania. Mutani has translated selected stories from Caine Prize and is a member of Kiswahili-English translation team for the Commonwealth Writers.