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The 3rd edition of Kampala Writes Lit Fest will centre storytelling as a shared language across creative expressions, where writers and artists are celebrated as the powerful narrators of our stories. The festival will further explore how narratives are shaped, shared, and re-imagined whilst honouring long-standing traditions and boldly embracing new genres and modes of expression.
The third edition of Kampala Writes Literary Festival positions storytelling as a shared language that transcends individual creative disciplines, foregrounding writers and artists as primary agents in the construction and transmission of cultural narrative. The festival interrogates the mechanisms by which narratives are shaped, shared, and re-appropriated across time — situating this inquiry within a critical dialogue between traditions in literary and artistic expressions and the emergent formal vocabularies that continue to expand the boundaries of expressive practice.
I am delighted to welcome you to the third edition of the Kampala Writes LitFest. Building on the success of the two previous editions, which I had the honour to curate, the Kampala LitFest is now a key event on Uganda’s literary calendar.
The theme for this year, ‘Where Stories Begin: The Imaginary and the Art of Possibility,’ invites us to reflect on the origins of storytelling, how new ideas are born, and how imagination allows us to rethink our histories and envision alternative futures.
Storytelling has always been at the heart of who we are as Ugandans. Many of us grew up surrounded by folktales, praise poetry, drama, song and dance as a form of entertainment and instruction. As storytellers, we continue to honour these long-standing traditions, but also, boldly embrace new genres and modes of expression. This festival celebrates all artists as the powerful narrators of our stories, and brings together a community of writers, poets and thinkers to expand the boundaries of storytelling.
We welcome acclaimed novelist and professor of creative writing, Chika Unigwe as the Keynote guest, alongside leading writers from the continent and the diaspora. The festival also features established and emerging talent across various artforms.
Join us for a stimulating festival featuring nuanced curated panel discussions and debates, book talks, workshops and masterclasses led by leading experts in the industry, performances, film screenings, and a dedicated children ‘s session.
screenings, and dedicated children‘s sessions.
I am delighted to welcome you to the third edition of the Kampala Writes LitFest. Building on the momentum of the two previous highly successful editions, both of which I had the honour to curate, the Kampala LitFest has quickly established itself as an important fixture on Uganda’s literary calendar.
The theme for this year, ‘Where Stories Begin: The Imaginary and the Art of Possibility,’ invites us to reflect on the origins of storytelling, how new ideas are born, and how imagination allows us to rethink our histories and envision alternative futures.
Storytelling has always been at the heart of who we are as Ugandans. Many of us grew up surrounded by folktales, praise poetry, drama, song and dance as a form of entertainment and instruction. As storytellers, we continue to honour these long-standing traditions, but also, boldly embrace new genres and modes of expression. We are excited to host this festival which celebrates all artists as the powerful narrators of our stories, and which brings together a community of writers, poets and thinkers to expand the boundaries of storytelling.
We welcome distinguished literary icon Chika Unigwe as the Keynote guest, alongside leading writers from the continent and the diaspora. The festival also features established and emerging talent across various artforms.
Join us for a stimulating festival featuring nuanced, curated panel discussions and debates, book talks, workshops and masterclasses led by leading experts in the industry, performances, film screenings, and dedicated children‘s sessions.
Goretti Kyomuhendo
Festival Curator
Facilitator: Ama Dadson
Audiobooks and podcasts are reshaping how African stories reach readers through sound. This practical session unpacks what it takes to turn a manuscript into audio, from production basics to distribution, and why it matters as an emerging form of publishing.
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Dilman Dila, Mirriane Mahn, Philisiwe Twijnstra · Moderator: Otieno Owino
This panel explores speculative fiction as a tool for political imagination, asking, what happens when African writers reclaim the right to imagine the future? The discussion considers speculative genres as an important space for political thought, where the assumptions of the present can be entirely rewritten. How does African futurism look like when it is imagined, defined and shaped by Africans themselves?
Atwiine Lyn (Fashion), Tramaine Suubi (Literature), Sandra Suubi (Visual Art) · Moderator: Prof. Dominica Dipio
How are stories born? Before a story becomes a novel, a garment, or an image, it begins with imagination. Creative professionals working across fashion, literature, film and visual art trace where their ideas begin. The panel brings together disciplines that rarely share a stage to discuss how different artistic forms shape the stories they tell.
Speeches and Performances
Dr. Anna Grace Awilli (Impressionist), Lloyd Lutara (Storyteller)
The festival opens with performances, a deliberate choice to set an emotional tone before the discussions begin. Impressionism and storytelling sit side by side on the same stage, moving between humour and reflection.
In Conversation Keynote
An opening conversation on craft and the journey of a writing life. Shifting from the tradition of speeches, this keynote is structured as a dialogue, allowing the conversation to move where the two speakers take it. It is the perfect start to the festival’s literary programming, built, among others, around Chika Unigwe’s story of what it means to sustain a writing practice over time.
Hadijjah Nabunya Sebunya, Ernest Bazanye · Moderator: Racheal Kizza
A first look at new stories and what shaped them. The conversation moves between the personal experiences behind the books and the broader questions they raise.
Facilitator: Mirriane Mahn
The aim of this workshop is to create an empowering space where participants can explore their own voices and stories. The workshop will introduce practical tools for political creative writing, encouraging participants to transform personal experiences, observations, and questions about society into compelling literary texts. Participants will leave feeling more confident in their own storytelling and with concrete writing techniques they can continue to use beyond the workshop.
Zabu Wamara, Yvonne Kusiima, Joshua Lubwama · Moderator: Juliet Kushaba
This roundtable brings together writers to reflect on the deeper purpose of literature, stories, and the meaning of literary success. What are the responsibilities that follow visibility? How can writers sustain their writing and production processes beyond moments of public recognition? A candid look at parts of the writing career that rarely get discussed publicly: motivation, discipline and income.
Faisal Pyepar, Patricia Kahill, Fiona Kemigisha · Moderator: Roland Byagaba
Panellists will provide practical strategies for turning streaming content into sustainable revenue, maximising value for content, and addressing business questions that many creators still grapple with.
Evelyn Amony · Moderator: Beatrice Lamwaka
At the age of twelve, Evelyn Amony was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and forced to become one of Joseph Kony’s wives. This conversation focuses on survival, memory, and Evelyn’s courageous act of writing her story.
Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Bobby Kolade (TBC) Felly Tusiime Mugizi (TBC) · Moderator: TBC
Climate stories are often told in numbers. This panel talks about climate stories through narrative instead. It brings together perspectives from conservation, fashion, and storytelling to widen the climate conversation beyond policy and into daily life and creative practice.
Edna Ninsiima, Ama Dadson, Chika Unigwe, Mirriane Mahn · Moderator: Wanjiru Koinange
Colonialism and its persistent legacies have limited the right by African peoples to imagine alternative futures. Many stories of Africa’s past have been dominated by inherited colonial narratives. But who tells the story of Africa’s future? This panel discuss how reclaiming the imaginary is as much an act of resistance against dominant narratives, as it is a political one.
Tramaine Suubi · Moderator: Phillip Matogo
Tramaine Suubi, the author of the new poetry collection, Stages, discusses the inspiration behind her poetry. The talk moves between readings and discussion, tracing what shaped the collection.
A screening followed by a conversation on building spaces for books and readers where none existed before. The film follows the practical work behind library-building efforts, and the post screening discussion follows this subject.
Jane Okot P’Bitek Langoya, Michelle Ivy Alwedo · Moderator: Irene Mutuzo
Three poets define what imagination in poetry means. Considering how everyday language and ordinary moments are transformed through poetry, is it true that poetry is the most honest place for imagination?
Murungi Esther Mugisa, Alinaitwe Orianah. · Moderator: Penelope Nankunda
A festival session created for the next generation of readers and storytellers. It is interactive and designed to make imagination feel like something children already own. A family – friendly session, mixing storytelling and open conversations; accessible across all age ranges.
Dr. Florence Baingana, Maureen Andinda (TBC) · Moderator: David Kangye (TBC)
The books we do not forget say as much about us as they do about the writers who created them. This is a personal, up-close conversation on the titles that left a mark on its readers.
Wanjiru Koinange, Yusuf Serunkuma, Moderator: Bernard Tabaire
Speakers will explore the powerful connection between storytelling, identity and public history. How reclaiming the right to define who we are against a colonial script that was never written by us requires a deliberate effort of unlearning, imagination and commitment to writing our own narratives.
Felix Kitaka, Bernard Nakireza · Moderator: TBC
This panel explores how AI is reshaping the creative landscape and what that means for writers, artists and readers. The conversation shifts between the technical, practical and ethical realities, asking questions of ownership, and the future of storytelling. Is imagination still uniquely human? Is AI a threat or saviour?
Philisiwe Twijnstra, Bazil Onen · Moderator: Goretti Kyomuhendo
Stories pass through gatekeepers before they reach their readers. This is a conversation about who holds that power; turning the lens on the publishing industry itself. It asks whether the structures that decide which stories are published and promoted serve writers and readers, or whether they are driven primarily by commercial interests.
A celebration of literature in and from Africa
Kampala Writes LitFest unites writers & readers to celebrate storytelling & inspire dialogue.
Kampala Writes LitFest unites writers & readers to celebrate storytelling & inspire dialogue.
