MOTO Books and Arts festival kicks off at the Village Market

The MOTO Books and Arts festival is aimed at boosting the reading culture and enhancing the impact of literature in the society.

The inaugural MOTO Books and Arts Festival kicked off at the Village Market in Nairobi yesterday, and will run till the 24th of April. At the festival, Kenyans will be treated to a four-day programme of literary events aimed at re-igniting interest in books, reading and enhancing the impact of arts and literature in the country.

Themed Firing up African Literature, the Festival has been organised to correspond with the World Book and Copyright Day marked in more than 100 countries to celebrate books and reading as a culture. The Day was designated by UNESCO on April 23rd 1995 and is aimed at encouraging children and young people to read for pleasure. The Nairobi event has been organised in collaboration with authors, illustrators, publishers, bookshops and libraries. It will bring together local and international artists to showcase their literary works and discuss emerging literary trends in Africa.

World acclaimed Ghanaian writer and blogger Nana Darkoa Sekyia will grace the event. Nana has authored the bestselling book, The Sex Lives of African Women. The climax of the festival will be a literature stakeholders’ dinner that will coincide with World Book and Copyright Day. The focus of the dinner will be how to monetize African Literature and will include several books authored by Kenyans. Nana Darkoa will give a keynote address.

Mercy Kibira, the Curator of MOTO Books and Arts Festival commented: “Key industry players, thought leaders and government representatives will come to deliberate on possible ways to to monetize African literature in the emerging world that has become a global village.  We are honoured to have invaluable partners who are committed to a reading culture and enhancing the impact of books and arts in Kenya.”

Among the books to be launched is  A Son of A Nile, an Inspiring Journey – a bold, eclectic and interesting anthology of prose by Teddy Warria, examining his genealogy and giving it purpose.

On Saturday the 23rd, a community initiative dubbed Adopt-A-Library will be launched in Nairobi’s Kibera slums to boost literacy levels and alleviate poverty in marginalised areas. During the launch, more than 18,000 books will be distributed to 30 community libraries in marginalised areas.

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