How exciting to have the Storymoja Festival back on home soil! It is bound to be a bigger, ‘badder’ blast of a book party this year under the capable leadership of the dynamic Anne Eboso!
We are still determined to get a book in every hand because a healthy writing and reading culture empowers our people with literacy skills and an appreciation of knowledge. Books should never be optional. Books are light, memory, comfort, inheritance, dreams, wisdom distilled.
Over the ten years of Storymoja’s existence, we have launched many books; broken a world record -over 400,000 children reading from the same text at the same time; taken the festival to Accra Ghana; run multiple writing and editing workshops; worked with County governments, and partnered individuals and organisations to start over 200 libraries In public and low cost private schools across the country. The festival is an annual celebration, a time to reflect on these achievements and those of others who work towards the same cause.
Organising celebrations is not easy so many, many thanks to the Anne Eboso and her 2017 festival team. We are also indebted to our patron, Auma Obama, who shows through her passionate commitment to our work, that indeed, books mean much more than words.
It is with great pleasure that I invite you once again to join us in celebrating books at the 2017 international Storymoja Festival.
Muthoni Garland.
