A Ugandan author based in Great Britain whose debut novel was initially rejected by British publishers for being ‘too African‘, has won one of the world’s richest literary prizes.
Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, the winner of the 2014 Commonwealth short fiction prize from Uganda but now living in the UK, has won one of the Windham Campbell Prizes from Yale University in the US.
She will receive $165,000 (£119,000). The prize money is more than double the amount that the Booker Prize winner gets, and organizers say it’s the richest award dedicated to literature after the Nobel Prize. Makumbi’s debut novel Kintu was first published in Kenya four years ago after British publishers rejected it for being “too African”. It was finally released in the UK this January. In Ugandan culture, Kintu is a mythological figure who appears in a legend of the Baganda of Uganda as a creation myth. According to this legend, Kintu was the first person on earth, the father of all people. Although her book is not about this Kintu, it follows a family who believes that there is a curse on them which has followed them over several generations, spanning more than 250 years.
I loved Makumbi’s Commonwealth short story, and lived through the pain of her main character. Now I cannot wait to read her first book and regal in Ugandan history and culture.
African Heritage 
Thank you for this ! Look forward to more blogs on rich African literature — there is so much today. Check out a lovely book which hasn’t gotten much press but is worth a read: “Baking Cakes in Kigali” by Gaile Parkin. And of course so many others: https://theculturetrip.com/africa/articles/the-top-10-contemporary-african-writers-you-should-know/
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Reblogged this on It's Not Easy to Have Faith.
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Amazing!
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Congrats to her. I might have to check out that book. Good on Jennifer for winning that award. I also wonder if that Ugandan person I had an email conversation with the other day knows about her or at least knows about the Kintu character.
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You should ask… you never know.
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I certainly will. Funny enough, I will mention this person in passing as part of an article I have planned for tomorrow. It involves a topic I never thought I would talk about on the main Ospreyshire blog even if it ties into positive representation. Stay tuned…
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I am staying tuned….
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It’s already up now. The aforementioned Ugandan is in the bottom left corner of one of the pictures, by the way. https://ospreyshire.wordpress.com/2019/12/16/representation-matters-pt-iv-that-one-time-when-i-got-inspiration-from-pro-wrestling-of-all-things-yes-really/
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Thanks for sharing Ospreyshire
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No problem. What did you think?
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