By Our Reporter
As the third edition of the Kampala Writes LitFest filled the grounds of the Uganda National Cultural Centre (National Theatre) from August 28 to 30, 2026, a parallel, off-stage dialogue was unfolding across town.
On Saturday evening, August 29, Nairobi-based publisher eKitabu gathered a selective cohort of writers, editors, and cultural leaders on Nakasero Hill for an exclusive cocktail reception at Onomo Hotel.
While the public festival program drew hundreds to panels, book launches, and workshops, eKitabu’s closed-door gathering at 18A Akii Bua Road offered a targeted space to discuss the mechanics of contemporary African publishing, cross-border distribution, and literary sustainability.
Founded in 2024 by the Goethe-Zentrum Kampala / Uganda German Cultural Society, the LitFest has grown fast, and this year’s edition was curated by author Goretti Kyomuhendo under the theme “Where Stories Begin: The Imaginary and the Art of Possibility.” Backed by the Caine Prize for African Writing and the Open Society Foundations, it drew more than 50 continental speakers across 12 sessions.
Nigerian novelist Chika Unigwe opened the festival as keynote guest, speaking on sustaining a writing life across continents. Elsewhere, Dilman Dila, Mirrianne Mahn, and Philisiwe Twijnstra explored speculative fiction and political imagination, Ghanaian producer Ama Dadson led a masterclass on the rise of audio publishing, and other sessions deliberately paired writers with visual artists and fashion designers to trace where narrative ideas actually come from.
While the festival crowd was still buzzing from the day’s panels, a smaller circle made its way up Nakasero Hill for something more working-session than showcase. eKitabu was founded in Nairobi in 2012 by CEO Will Clurman, building its early reputation on digital educational publishing and accessibility work — African sign languages, braille, mobile-first distribution.
More recently, it has pushed into trade publishing through its adult imprint Mvua Press, launched in late 2024, and children’s imprint Maua Books, expanding into fiction, poetry, and narrative non-fiction. The Onomo reception was where that expansion got discussed in real terms — distribution, rights, sustainability.
Donica Merhazion, the Eritrean-Ethiopian author and educator behind Born at the End of the World — co-published by Mvua Press and Catalyst Press in February 2026 — spoke about the novel’s roots in personal and political survival across 1970s Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Tramaine Suubi, the Kampala-born, Iowa Writers’ Workshop-trained poet behind companion collections phases (2025) and stages (2026) from Amistad/HarperCollins, talked about weaving Luganda linguistic structures into international publishing without losing her voice.
Betty Kilonzo, author of Closure, Jerusalem, and Househelp Manual, founder of Blackstartales, and a consulting editor at eKitabu, reflected on the leap from self-publishing to formal corporate distribution across East Africa.
Chika Unigwe emphasized the need for regional literary spaces where continental writers can exchange ideas without routing through Western gatekeepers.
And Sheila Akwany, Director of Goethe-Zentrum Kampala, spoke about building permanent, repeatable infrastructure so Ugandan writers have an ongoing network, not just an annual event.
Behind all of it sits a harder industry reality: educational textbooks still make up roughly 70% of continental book sales, while trade fiction and poetry contend with cross-border EAC customs tariffs, limited distribution, and patchy retail presence. eKitabu’s response is a layered strategy of digital delivery, rights licensing including European translation deals, in-house audio production through Studio KSL, and physical print distribution — all aimed at making trade titles commercially sustainable, not just critically celebrated.
As the third edition of Kampala Writes LitFest concluded, the collaboration between Goethe-Zentrum Kampala, regional publishers like eKitabu, and international literary figures demonstrated a shifting dynamic in East African literature: one focused on sustainable publishing economics, accessible digital platforms, and self-determined cultural infrastructure.