“Thousands of stories. One continent. The African Book Fair returns for its third and biggest edition yet.”
This coming weekend, Nairobi will feel the literary heartbeat of the continent as Soma Nami Books hosts the third edition of their African Book Fair, running from 7 – 10 August at Maktaba Kuu, Kenya National LIbrary (KNLS) in Upper Hill.
The African Book Fair is a celebration of African voices, stories, and storytelling traditions. From contemporary fiction and poetry to political memoirs, children’s tales, and diasporic narratives, the fair offers an experience that centres African and diaspora thought, creativity, and cultural exchange.
The fair is a work of pure passion for Soma Nami founders Muthoni Muiruri and Wendy Njoroge. As Muiruri says, “From concept to theme and design and placement, I am always fully hands on. I lift, I climb, I hammer, and everything else it takes to put on a show. As a creative, nothing is more gratifying than seeing your vision or concepts and designs come to life.”
The theme for 2025, “African Stories in a Connected World,” reflects Soma Nami’s ongoing mission to spotlight books by African and Afro-descendant authors that interrogate, inspire, and empower. This theme invites us to explore how African narratives, rooted in diverse languages, traditions, and lived experiences, transcend borders to shape global conversations. In a time of unprecedented connectivity, African storytellers are not only contributing to the world’s literary canon; they are actively redefining it.
Through this lens, the fair becomes a space to examine how African voices engage with questions of identity, heritage, justice, migration, technology, and imagination. It’s a space for reimagining Africa’s place in the literary world, not as a footnote, but as a force.
Although billed as a book fair, the event is something of a literary festival as well. Over four carefully curated days, the fair will include author talks, panel discussions, live readings, book launches, children’s storytime, and even a Poetry Party, making it a haven for readers and writers alike.
Where most book fairs focus on publishers, Soma Nami has crafted a book fair for readers, dedicated to celebrating African literary art and amplifying the voices of African writers by providing a platform for visibility and meaningful engagement with readers. It also seeks to revitalize Kenya’s reading culture.
Headlining the Book Fair is Iris Mwanza, author and gender equality advocate. A powerful voice for justice and equality, Iris has captivated readers and inspired advocates around the world. Her groundbreaking debut legal thriller, The Lion’s Den was named one of the Time 100 Must Read Books of 2024, was Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and has cemented her place as a literary force. Iris Mwanza will be in conversation with Wairimu Njoroge, acclaimed bookseller and literary curator.
Alongside Ms Mwanza, expect an impressive lineup of further local and international literary talent, with writers from across the continent and diaspora converging to discuss: the politics of language; publishing in Africa; the role of literature in resistance and repair; and more.
The fair will open on the morning of Thursday 7 August with a panel discussion entitlted: Naming the Silence (GBV) featuring Munira Hussein, Njeri Migwi, moderated by Kui Kabala.
Later that evening, closing the first day, there will be a fun, interactive Book Quiz designed to test attendees’ knowledge of African literature—ranging from classic novels to contemporary works, authors, and literary trivia.
A number of discussions and storytellings will take place over the course of the weekend, including:
Book launch: Decolonize, Humxnize: Is decolonization more than a buzzword? Whose knowledge counts? Why delve deep to understand self, history and intercontinental relations? How do people and communities heal from the wounds of colonization and related trauma passed from generation to generation? Such intractable questions are explored in this collection of essays on decolonization.
Panel: ‘African Stories, Global Selves’ As African literature earns global recognition, a deeper conversation is needed: Who are these stories really for? Join this dynamic panel of Anwuli Ojogwu (Nigeria), Publisher/cofounder, Narrative Landscape Press, Stanley Onjezani Kenani (Malawi), and Wendy Njoroge (Kenya), publisher/bookseller, as they unpack the politics of audience, voice, and literary gatekeeping in African storytelling, examining the invisible pressures of writing for global markets, the risks of cultural distortion, and the urgent need to build literary ecosystems that center African readers first.
Panel: ‘Defending the Right to Read and Write: Confronting Censorship, Persecution, and Silencing of Writers in Africa.’: Our distinguished panelists – Dr. Njuki Githetwa (Kenya), academic, Editor of Ukombozi Review, and convenor of the Ukombozi Writers Forum, and Natasha Omokhodion (Zambia), acclaimed novelist, storyteller, and member of PEN Zambia – will share their insights and experiences. The conversation will be moderated by Nduko o’Matigere, Head of Africa, PEN International. Together, we will explore how censorship, legal intimidation, and cultural pressures threaten literary freedom, and what must be done to defend it.
Further events include: Book Chats on The Intasimi Series – Shiko Nguro’s action-packed, Kenya-based series for middle schoolers, No Be From Hia by Natasha Omokhodion-Kalulu Banda, and Let Us Conspire, and Other Stories. Panel discussions: The New Book Club Movement; Libraries at the Heart of African Storytelling; Migration, Identity & Belonging; Decolonizing Memory in African Literature; and Swahili: Whose Language?, as well as the discussions highlighted above.
In a world where African stories are too often filtered through foreign lenses, Soma Nami’s African Book Fair offers something radical: a space to read ourselves, by ourselves, and for ourselves.
The African Book Fair will be buzzing with indie publishers, African book vendors, and food stalls, creating a festival atmosphere perfect for families, bibliophiles, and curious minds.
The cherry on top: Expect crazy discounts, up to 50% off of regular prices.
Entry is free, and all are welcome.
📍 KNLS
📅 7–10 August 2025
🔗 Follow @africanbookfair on social media and check out the website for the full schedule and lineup.
