Library Tours
Time: 10:00 AM
Experience NBOLitfest with an immersion tour of McMillan Memorial Library and it’s two branches. The tours will run throughout the festival, so book a spot and get to learn about these libraries’ history and all sorts of possible futures.
Storytime at McMillan Memorial Library
Weaver Bird with WaLAM
Time: 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
The LAM Sisterhood (Laura Ekumbo, Aleya Kassam and Anne Moraa) are joined by Wanja Wohoro to form WaLAM; four Kenyan women perform a snippet of their musical, Weaver Bird. This musical is about the life of Field Marshal Muthoni Wa Kirima, the highest-ranking soldier in Kenya’s Land and Freedom Army and one of the most important figures in Kenya’s struggle for independence. This work is being developed as part of The Nairobi Musical Theatre Initiative.
Storytime
Hummingbird Tales and #KeAlphabet, by Paukwa Stories
Time: 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
Gather the little ones for another fun story session hosted by Paukwa Stories, featuring animated video stories of inspirational everyday Kenyans, retold to infuse positive values in young Kenyans and a very Kenyan take on the alphabet!
Music Bunk
Featuring Sanaipei Tande
Time: 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Join us for an acoustic set with Sanaipei Tande, a Kenyan singer, songwriter, actress, karaoke host, radio personality and entertainer known for her sultry voice and Swahili lyricism. Sanaipei has released popular tracks with some of the biggest names in the industry like Jua Cali, Madtraxx, Big Pin, King Kaka, Nadia Mukami among others. Dig into her set featuring her signature, versatile musical style incorporating elements of R&B, Afropop, Zouk, Reggae, and Neo-Taarab.
In Conversation
Writing about home and writing about everywhere: Nanjala Nyabola, with Ciku Kimeria
Time: 2:00 PM - 2:40 PM
Nanjala’s recent work has been described as “a must read for all researchers and journalists writing about Kenya today”. In this conversation with author and Quartz Editor Ciku Kimeria, she explores the vagaries of movement for people of colour against the backdrop of a digital world.
In Conversation
Billy Kahora and Muthoni Garland
Time: 3:00 PM - 3:45 PM
How do cityscapes / landscapes influence Billy Kahora and Muthoni Garland’s writing? How do writers research/ select the cities where their stories live? How do libraries, or access to public archives and collections impact writing? Tune in to this conversation and learn about which writers these two admire, and other writing of cities that they draw from. Muthoni and Billy delve into what role Nairobi’s libraries have played in their writing lives.
Panel Discussion
The intellectual legacies of Binyavanga Wainaina
Time: 4:00 PM -5:00 PM
Binyavanga Wainaina won the Caine Prize for his short story, Discovering Home in 2001, and was the founding editor of Kwani?, the Nairobi-based literary magazine that he helped to establish in 2003. Kwani? immediately became a base for the curation of new writing from Kenya and elsewhere in the continent, and for establishing new literary networks. His satirical essay, How to Write About Africa, was published by Granta in 2006, and his memoir, One Day I Will Write About This Place was released both by Granta and Kwani?, in 2013. In this conversation moderated by Christine Mungai, with Kiprop Kimutai, Wanjiru Koinange and Dr. Ngala Chome as panellists, reflects on the cultural and intellectual contributions of the late Binyavanga Wainaina, who passed on in May 2019. Amongst other themes, the panel shall focus on Wainaina’s life as a public intellectual, and his contributions to the creative, cultural and intellectual life of Kenya and Africa more widely. This event is a collaboration between Book Bunk, Sahifa and Baraza Media Lab.
Music Bunk
Featuring Tetu Shani
Time: 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM
Join us for an African Sun Sundowner with Tetu Shani, an award winning singer-songwriter (Global Music Awards), live performer (Two time winner of Best Live Band at Sondeka Awards), and one of the most prolific Kenyan recording artists in recent years with over 30 singles and two EPs. He was accepted into Berklee College of Music in 2014 with a scholarship to study performance but turned it down to help build an ecosystem for alternative musicians in Nairobi! He has since been featured on CNN African Voices, has gotten music placements on Netflix and international TV and film and is a radio host on his own show called Alt Kenya that helps audiences discover the best in Kenyan alternative music.