‘Madness’ makes Batanda’s dreams come true by Racheal Ninsiima

 

Photo credit: Edward Echwalu

Success is measured differently by different people.

For some, it is the contentment that comes with putting food on the table; for others, it is the sought-after job promotion, and yet others it is fame and wealth.

But for the outspoken, bespectacled and fair-skinned Jackee Budesta Batanda, it is the ecstasy that comes with living one’s dream. Her success as a writer, a dream she has nurtured since childhood, is awe-inspiring.

It won her some of the world’s coveted awards such as the Macmillan Writer’s prize which recognizes unpublished African fiction for children and the 2004 African regional winner for the Commonwealth short story competition.

Read full article in the Observer.

 

Words move the world

May has been an eventful month thus far in Uganda’s literary scene. The African Writers Trust (AWT), a non-profit entity that brings together African writers — both from the continent and the diaspora — to share skills and knowledge, held a writers workshop in Kampala.

Nii Ayikwei Parkes, a London-based Ghanaian writer and experienced performance poet, led the workshop. For ten days, Nii Ayikwei mentored emerging Ugandan poets and university students, conducted poetry workshops, and shared his personal writing and publishing experiences with the writing fraternity.

Read more: Transitions