Ekari Writes

A website called  Kinna Reads  initiated an Africa Reading Challenge with a simple rule: read at least 5 African books in the period of January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015. I thought this was a great excuse to venture into a large range of quality African books which the world is finally starting to notice. It also fit in very conveniently with the personal challenge I had already given myself a few years ago to read more African books. The goal of my challenge was to begin to familiarise myself with African writing, since my intention is to be published amongst that group. I grew up preferring western novels for reasons I have discovered have more to do with the global industry (availability, advertising, what type of African books get published) than actual quality. Without venturing into what can and cannot be defined as an African book, I made my choice based on accessibility (to me) and  interest. I sourced them from a variety of places, ...

A website called  Kinna Reads  initiated an Africa Reading Challenge with a simple rule: read at least 5 African books in the period of January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015. I thought this was a great excuse to venture into a large range of quality African books which the world is finally starting to notice. It also fit in very conveniently with the personal challenge I had already given myself a few years ago to read more African books. The goal of my challenge was to begin to familiarise myself with African writing, since my intention is to be published amongst that group. I grew up preferring western novels for reasons I have discovered have more to do with the global industry (availability, advertising, what type of African books get published) than actual quality. Without venturing into what can and cannot be defined as an African book, I made my choice based on accessibility (to me) and  interest. I sourced them from a variety of places, ...

I recently rediscovered the joy of comic books. They are a fascinating medium of storytelling, combining both visual art and dialogue. As such they make a great entry point for people who want to get into reading but struggle to visualize the words as an immersive world which the author has created. Traditionally, comic books are meant to be something you grow out of at a certain age, but now there are many comic book stories which are targeted at adults. The most well known type in this category are known as graphic novels.  But if you don't have access to these, there are countless web comics accessible online, many are free, others not. I've decided to write about a few of the ones I discovered here, and specifically works which have a strong presence by a black character. I selected this category because when I was growing up, I rarely found characters in either books or movies who represented my race and/or gender. Times are changing!  I a...

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this awesome trailer for a free  (for now)  short story  must be worth many times it's weight in font: Support Malawi's Muthi Nhlema by downloading his exciting science fiction e-book, TA O'REVA, about the return of Nelson Mandela to a future South Africa destroyed by xenophobia. You don't have to go through Whatsapp, just go straight to this link https://freeditorial.com/en/books/ta-o-reva and click where you see PDF to start the download. He has 4 days left from the time of this post to win the competition. The more downloads the better, so spread the word!

Left to Right: Pius Nyondo, Me, Tiseke Chilima, and Hagai Magai I had the great honour of participating in my first ever writing workshop, and it was nothing short of mind blowing! It was a thrilling union of seasoned published authors from Africa and beyond, and 10 young, unpublished but enthusiastic, Malawian writers from different backgrounds. Being one of the second group, I valued the unique opportunity to pick the brains of those who have walked the path that I am working towards reaching one day. That path leads to the out of world experience I’ve pictured countless times – holding a printed and bound novel in my hands with my name on it. Opportunities like these aren’t common enough in Malawi, and I commend Shadreck Chikoti and Trine Andersen for initiating such a project, that I pray is the beginning of even more activities which nurture the nation’s writing industry. It was well organised, enjoyed by all involved, and taken as seriously as it needed to be in order ...