Recap: The Huza Press Launch and Short Story Prize Award Ceremony
On September 4, 2015, I had the pleasure of hosting the Huza Press launch and shorty story competition award ceremony at the Century Park restaurant in Kigali.
Apart from being excited that Huza was founded by a good friend, it was special to be a part of Rwanda’s first fiction competition. Huza Press was started by Louise Umutoni to create a more visible platform for Rwandan writers to share their work. I imagine the $1000 USD prize provided quite the encouragement to the 50 applicants as well! This is just the beginning for Huza, as the publishing house is, in Louise’s words, “…committed to developing quality creative writing and the growth of the creative industry through the publishing and distribution of contemporary African writing.”
Despite being a competition for Rwandan writers, PanAfrican solidarity rang throughout the night. This was the thanks in part to the diversity of the publishing partners, judges, and mentors. In order to execute an event of this calibre for its first venture, Huza wisely partnered with Short Story Day Africa (South Africa), BN Poetry (Uganda), and Parresia Publishers (Nigeria). And though there was only one winner, all 10 finalists will receive mentorship from leading African writers such as Taiye Selassi (Ghana)and Jennifer Makumbi (Uganda). Partnering with established writers and literary brands added gravitas to the prize, and could signal some exciting opportunities for Rwandan writers to expose their craft to the rest of the continent.
I was too busy hosting to take good photos of the décor, but I must say I was impressed by how chic Century Park looked that evening. While I have never been a fan of their food, the restaurant downstairs and the adjoining garden should definitely be on more people’s radar as a venue for hosting fab events.
The crowd was filled with writers and their supporters, nervously awaiting the competition’s outcome, as well as some familiar faces on the Kigali creative scene. The region was well-represented by Nigerian author Richard Ali, and Bwesigye bwa Mwesigire, cofounder of the Writivism Literary Initiative. Throughout the night, we were treated to performances from dynamic talents like Mike Kayihura, possessor of Kigali’s silkiest vocals, and poet Michaella Rugwizangoga (who may be familiar to faithful readers from my pictures of her designs at the Kigali Naturalistas launch).
A highlight of the night was the prolific University of Rwanda professor, Dr. Alice Karekezi, leading the audience into traditional Rwandan dance to the mesmerizing tune of the inanga, as played by Emma Rwanamiza.
Prof. Karekezi was on hand to disseminate prizes to the 10 finalists. While Darla Umutoni and Daniel Rafiki shared the big cheque as joint winners, I believe all the writers were excited about the upcoming publication of Huza’s first anthology, which will feature all their stories. The anthology should be released within the next year, and I can’t wait to get a copy.
Be sure to visit Huza’s Facebook page to stay abreast of developments on Rwanda’s budding literary scene.
Photos: Chris Schwagga/Huza Press
