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@nbolitfest

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A celebration of art, culture & the boundless potential of knowledge
Presented by @thebookbunk x @hayfestival
#NairobiLitfest

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Some inheritances you don't choose. A name. A history. A word.

Safiya Sinclair was born "savage" by the rules of someone else's language - Caribbean, from Carib, the people Columbus called man-eaters. Ep. 110 is her answer to that inheritance: wild conch shell dialect, doctor birds, walls of broken glass that couldn't keep her out: reclamation, not resentment.

What's the inheritance you're still making sense of - the one nobody asked if you wanted?

Tell us below. Then tune in to hear how Safiya writes her way home.
Link in bio.

#SelamAndHello #JoyAndJustice #SafiyaSinclair #CulturalHeritage #DiasporaStories

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Stories found a home. Ideas found an audience. Communities found each other.

From 8–10 May 2026, the 5th edition of @nbolitfest brought together 34 writers, poets, artists and thinkers across 30 events in three of Nairobi’s historic public libraries. Together, we celebrated storytelling, sparked meaningful conversations and reimagined the role of libraries as spaces for creativity, culture and community.

This festival was made possible by our partners, speakers, moderators, volunteers, bookstore, artists, media partners and every person who showed up to listen, learn and connect. Thank you for making @nbolitfest 2026 unforgettable.

A special thank you to @hayfestival , our co-presenters, for helping connect Nairobi’s literary voices with global conversations.

Nairobi Litfest 2026 Festival Report is now live. Read the full report via the link in bio.

#NBOLibraries #literature #community #hayfestival

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"There's so much about the people who made me that I don't know."

For Safiya Sinclair, the Jamaican poet and memoirist behind How to Say Babylon, tracing her own family history meant hitting a wall. Her mother's line stops at a great-grandfather. Her father's story is cut short by a grandfather he never knew. It's a gap she traces straight back to colonialism a legacy that doesn't just take land; it takes memory.

At NBO LitFest, Safiya joined Ugandan poet Dr. Nick Makoha and Chilean writer Lina Meruane for a frank conversation, moderated by Lilly Bekele-Piper, a panel on motherhood in literature, maternal figures in fiction, and the space between truth and reverence.

Safiya's response to the silence in her own family tree? She became a writer. Documenting Caribbean diaspora history, and pulling the women out of the margins where colonial record-keeping had left them.

This session was supported by the Open Society Foundations' South-to-South Initiative and the British Council's UK/Kenya Season 2025.

Tune in for the full conversation on motherhood, memory, and storytelling. Link in bio

Lilly’s styling details:
Jacket by @sarah_clothing__
Earrings by @adeledejak

#NairobiLitfest #NBOLibraries #SelamAndHello #africanliterature #africanpodcast

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On this episode of Selam & Hello, our guest opens up about writing her book for the 12-year-old girl she used to be - the one who felt out of place, unsure if there was a future or a version of womanhood that made room for her.

We also trace what happens when identity gets reassigned at a border: entering the UK, he became “a Black man” before he became anything else - a label loaded with assumptions about refugees and asylum seekers that had nothing to do with who he actually was.

Language, she says, gave her back the space to be herself instead of the version others projected onto her.

This is a conversation about belonging, motherhood on your own terms, and reclaiming identity from the outside in. Joy and justice, side by side - as always.

Tune in to the full episode this Wednesday.

This session was supported by the Open Society Foundations’ South-to-South Initiative and the British Council’s UK/Kenya Season 2025.

Lilly's styling details:
Jacket: @sarah_clothing__
Earrings: @adeledejak

#SelamAndHello #JoyAndJustice #AfricanStorytelling #DiasporaStories #RefugeeVoices

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It’s a Friday night and we’re remembering this unforgettable festival experience @nbolitfest

We want a repeat of it all.
The energy, the joy, the learning.

Most of all, the beautiful intention behind creating spaces where children are the very heart of the experience.

To many more book moments like these. 🤍📚

#books #children #festivals #bookfestival #nairobi

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Hello Friends,

In Episode 5 of #ArtIsResistance, Lilyrose, @shopkipato Operations Manager, takes us behind the scenes to share how quality, ethics and craftsmanship are woven into every piece we create. From responsibly sourcing materials and maintaining standardized production processes to continuously training the women artisans we work with, every step is intentional.

At @shopkipato (@azadicommunity Social Enterprise), we believe luxury should not only be beautiful, it should be ethical, empowering and made with care. Every product tells a story of skill, dignity and excellence, while meeting international quality standards.

Watch the full episode and understand more about the pieces you love.

Explore our latest luxury collection at shopkipato.co.ke / @shopkipato and own a piece crafted with purpose. (Link in Bio)
#EthicalFashion #AzadiCommunity

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As we honour and remember the young Kenyans whose lives were cut short on 25 June 2024 while demanding accountability, justice, and a future they believed in, we reflect on protest not only as an act of resistance, but as a language of hope, belonging, and democratic participation.

Episode 5 of A Place for the People, recorded during @nbolitfest 2025, @angelawachuka_ and @shirokoinange are joined by @anganakeith to trace the evolution of protest in Kenya as a powerful form of self-expression and change, while exploring the role of public libraries as witnesses to—and participants in—civic life.

This conversation captures the reflections, memories, and emotions surrounding a day that marked a turning point in Kenya’s recent history.

May we continue to remember, to listen, and to imagine a more just future together.

Listen to this episode and the rest of Season 3, which explores protest in its many forms, on all podcast platforms and YouTube, link is in our bio.

📸 @wakitanga_

#NBOLibraries #June25 #APlaceForThePeople #CivicMemory #NairobiLitfest LiteratureFestival

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Motua with more tours 🤡
Kesho tuko hapo the palace of the people @Eastlands Library yenyewe kando yaHuduma Centre Makadara
Come one come all 😃
#sipandheal
#mentalwellness
#mentalhealthineastlands

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A Festival of ideas! We love it! ✨
From concept to execution, bringing these massive visions to life is exactly what we live for👌🏽

#nbolitfest #nbolitfest2026

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In Nairobi, art is more than creativity. It is a voice. It is a community. It is possibility.
From inspiring classes to empowering creatives, Sekoya is shaping the next generation of artists.

Something powerful is coming.

Sekoya: where creativity finds its place.

Thanks to all who participated @adhiambozarita Sekoya's founder
@olivia_ambani @tim.macharia @nancy.muttai @naomimuttai All of @sekoyaeastafrica team

Shot by @cudaflair

#sekoya #artistsoninstagram #fyp #trailer #upcoming #films #documentaryfilm #impact #8thsunstudios

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The 5th Nairobi Litfest @nbolitfest came and went from May 8 to 10, and we are still thinking about it. Spread across three of Nairobi’s public libraries, this year’s edition gathered writers, artists, and thinkers under the theme of Speculative Cartography and South-to-South Connections.

We loved that the festival shared creativity tips from some of the brightest minds in the room: Shani Akilah @_shaniakilah , Troy Onyongo @troyonyango_ , Natasha Brown @wordsbynatasha , Inua Ellams @inuaellams , and Dr. Portia Malatjie @portiamalatjie . Here’s to the writers, artists, and dreamers who showed up and to the libraries that held them ✍🏾📖📚

#AfricanLiterature #BookFestival #AfricanWriters #WritingTips #CreativityTips

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An audience full of introspective individuals. Best one yet 👌🏾👌🏾
@nbolitfest

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