STORYMOJA

The stir in the office, with jugs of laced and non-laced fruit punch being made, caught my attention at the end of a busy day at Storymoja. Following the refreshments led me to our patio where I found my colleague Isaac arranging an array of our bestselling books. Oh yes, it was the Meet & Greet session with Dr. Emma Dawson, a literary editor from the UK.

The artist in me started arranging the books on the table so that symmetry, color schemes and sizes fell into place. Some guests trickled in, so I took the opportunity to get to know them and let them familiarize themselves with our books.

The only mzungu in the premises led me to the assumption that I had bumped into the one and only Emma Dawson.

“You must be Emma Dawson. I am Sharifa…” and on we talked.

I didn’t quite expect her to be so young. She looked 27 or younger and was dressed casually, so that put me at ease – it wasn’t going to be those formal awkward sessions. We chatted briefly, munched on the food and sipped punch as ideas and conversations merged and broke off among us and other visitors. I couldn’t help counting the number of females at the event: three to be exact. I spoke to two of them. One hoped to be published in the anthology to be talked about. The other was a writer I have met on several occasions: Ms. Rasnah Warah. It amazed me when she actually recalled we had met somewhere. Some other guests had brought their own books, perhaps to discuss them with Emma.

About an hour after the event was supposed to start we had less than ten or so participants. We really must stop this “African time” bad habit! Emma took the situation in her hands, and standing by the refreshment table, begged for attention and permission to start. She apologized for the delay, introduced herself and the agenda for the evening.

She introduced her project: an anthology of Kenyan short stories that she is editing for CCC Press. She is interested in what she calls “World Englishes,” that is, the different kinds of English spoken around the world. She believes each version is a valid one, and stories written in these Englishes by people living in varied country will make for vibrant reading across the globe. Another of her goals is to showcase new and upcoming writers who may not be known beyond their borders. She has completed the Cameroon and Nigerian anthologies, and has just come from Uganda as she is editing a Ugandan one as well. She also plans to edit anthologies of some Asian and Caribbean countries.

Please note that the deadline for the Kenyan anthology submissions is May 31st 2009. For more information please write to Emma at worldlits@googlemail.com You can also check out the publisher’s website at ___________

When Ms Dawson was done, a flock of about twelve or so late-comers congregated at the edge of the patio and huddled there looking rather awkward. The least I could do was grab some cups & punch and offer them to our guests. My colleague Sheila followed suit.

A reporter from Nairobi Star sparked off question time. His concern was for the rural talent that wasn’t necessarily reachable by the very modern platforms that “giants like Storymoja & Kwani?” – his words – use to reach the public, e.g. Facebook, Twitter, blogs and websites. Emma assured him that she had that very concern and that is why she had gone to Eldoret to spread the word. Storymoja also arranged her appearance on TV. Another issue raised was Emma’s ideas on post-colonialism and the different Englishes of the world that she advised writers to submit in. Others in the audience were keen on ‘the prize’ if their stories were selected: how much they would take home? One guest was concerned that Kenya had many good writers who would not fit in the seemingly small collection. She assured everyone that if indeed there were that many damn talented writers then the Kenyan book would be triple in size!

Dr. Dawson had with her the hot-of-the-press anthology from Cameroon that she passed around. It had a nicely waxed book cover, and included photos of the authors and their bios. I pictured some of the attendees in there and decided that the Kenyan anthology would be an interesting one.

The debate buzzed on, though at this point I’m not sure if it was fueled by laced punch or just Kenyanness. Some thought that like many wazungu, Emma was here simply to exploit Kenyan talent. She assured everyone about the genuine-ness of the project. I for one am convinced and proud to be working for a company that is expanding opportunities for Kenyan writers both locally and internationally. So writers, you have no excuse, get your act together, put pen to paper, and get published!

For more information on what Emma does…click here http://www.cccpress.co.uk/wel.htm