7 Ugandan Authors Award Winning Books – 2024

If you have been wondering what your next read could be, dive with me as I recommend you 7 Ugandan award winning books for a grab. Want to read about Ugandan authors and their books, politics, cultural norms, or way of life? This is the book blog for you.

Uganda is not only a beautiful country but it is also culturally rich more so when it comes to its diversely beautiful Literature. Uganda is therefore celebrated when it comes to the art of writing blessed by its creative local and international authors.

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All the way from day to day topics, the rich culture and business down to everything that affects people living within the Country, we have just the right book for you. In case you want to read more blogs about local and international literature, check out our blogs.

Top 7 Ugandan Award Winning Books

Here is a list of the 7 Ugandan award winning books in 2024 you should read for inspiration and know how Uganda’s literature is advancing each year:

1. Zookeeper for a week by Ndhego Zikusoka.

Talk about children being the future of the education system. Here is a super star Ugandan author known by the name Ndhego Zikusoka. His story is an inspiring one on top of being commendable.

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Ugandan author Ndhego Zikusoka won the 2022 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award for his book “Zookeeper For A Week” under the Animals/Pets Non-Fiction category. According to him, it started out as a fun activity when he visited the zoo to be a zoo keeper for a week as organized by his mother.

Every day would start at 8:00am for him and end at exactly 4:00pm. At the end of this week, he was encouraged to narrate his story to young children like himself by publishing it as a segment in the New Vision’s  children’s magazine called Toto Magazine.

This is when he was reached by a children’s book author who was also a family friend called Cathy Kreutter who told Ndheho that the story he had published in Toto Magazine would make a wonderful Children’s book. This is when he took a leap of faith and jumped right in.

Three years later, the book was ready and his author friend  Kreutter entered the book for the 2022 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award. It won a Gold medal under the Animals/Pets Non-Fiction category. 

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This Ugandan award winning book is a good read for your child as it brings out the fun adventures of a young boy on his week long duty. Grab this book for your child as it is not only an easy read but it is also fun.

2. Zura Maids by Apio Eunice Otuko

Apio Eunice Otuko won “Outstanding Book” for “Zura Maids“, a novel exploring the exploitation of domestic help in disguise of professionalism at the Janzi Awards Celebrating Contemporary Ugandan Literature in January 2022.

“Zura Maids” entails a cover up of an employment agency which rents out housemaids. It is however a secret holding ground for human trafficking.  

The agency is the cover used by a powerful ring of human traffickers in this amazing story. In the story, a young woman Lena  dares to dream and turn her dreams into reality as she fights to rescue herself and other girls from the traffickers after having been deceived.

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The intriguing part of all this is  how far can she actually  go to try and save her life as well as the other victims against  such a powerful network of influential men and women. This book drives all your emotions on edge, no wonder it is one of the Ugandan award winning books.

If you are interested in thrilling suspense as well as a story that can drive your emotions to an edge, grab yourself a copy of this amazing Ugandan book for a read.

3. Butterfly Dreams by Beatrice Lamwaka

Author Beatrice Lamwaka is a two-time Caine Prize nominee who received the award for “Outstanding Fiction Writer” for her short story collection “Butterfly Dreams” at the Janzi Awards Celebrating Contemporary Ugandan Literature in January 2022.

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Beatrice Lamwaka’s story is terribly  sad. It is a story that represents the true story of many children caught in the unending conflict between the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Uganda government in northern Uganda. This conflict has left in its wake many rape victims and child soldiers. And those who escape from their abductors are left direly traumatized.

In the story, eleven-year old Lamunu is one of the affected  children. Like all children Lamunu also had a dream to become a medical doctor. One evening the rebels invaded the village of Akololum and amongst those abducted is Lamunu. 

Although she is able to escape from her abductors after four years in captivity, Lamunu suffers from post-abduction disorder.  Sadly, Lamunu’s experience is not unique and it has almost become the norm in Northern Uganda.

The once vibrant village of Akololum had been turned into a camp and the farmers, including Lamunu’s father, who could in pre-war days feed their family to excess, now have to depend on donations and hand-outs from Non-Governmental Organizations . Lamunu however sticks to her dream to become a medical doctor.

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“Butterfly wings” is a story of pain, struggle but also one of resilience and hope. It is one of the Ugandan award winning books for a reason. For a tear-jerking and emotional story, grab yourself a copy of this book. 

4. Work and Prosper by Charles Peter Mayiga

Author Charles Peter Magiya received the award for “Outstanding Non-fiction Writer” for his book “Work and Prosper” at the Janzi Awards Celebrating Contemporary Ugandan Literature in January 2022.

“Work and Prosper” should always be your go to guide on how to make wise investment decisions and how to accumulate wealth in a never easy economical restraint of the Country.

In this Ugandan award winning book, author Charles Peter Mayiga lists a variety of techniques to guarantee  a successful career as well as strategies that can be used to achieve not only personal economical growth but also community economical growth.

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Charles Peter Mayiga not only encourages hard work in this book but also talks about the need to keep up with the newest trends as well as willingness to jump onto any given and available opportunities without under looking any of them. 

If you are a business fanatic looking for the wisest and bravest pointers for your investment decision, grab yourself a copy of “Work and Prosper”.

5. Namulanda by Walabyeki Magoba.

“Namulanda” by Walaabyeki Magoba was announced winner in the category of “Outstanding Children’s Storybook.” At the Janzi Awards Celebrating Contemporary Ugandan Literature in January 2022.

“Namulanda ” took exactly 13 years to be presented to the public for consumption. It is a book that clearly observes vulture considering that it is written in the local language, Luganda. The book explores greed that has overtaken people in the era of Kabaka Ssemakookiro  in the year 1794-1814.

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This era is loaded with greed, lies as well as betrayal. Sadly, there is no change in the current era considering that people always tend to let greed get the best of them and only work for their own satisfaction at the expense of others. 

For all the lovers of culture and history of Uganda with a touch of suspense and various lessons, grab yourself a copy of “Namulanda“.

6. Kintu by Nansubuga Makumbi

Ugandan author Nansubuga Makumbi was recognized internationally for her book, “Kintu” which won one of the most lucrative literary prizes in the world, the Windham Campbell prize from Yale University in the US in 2022. For a book that was considered “too African”, this was a major achievement for the author.

When Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi sent her novel “Kintu” to British publishers it was initially rejected because it was “too African.”. The novel was however very successful when it came to the East African market and it was selling quite successfully.  It was majorly rejected abroad because it did not include the colonization era or anything European at that. 

Makumbi believes that British publishers weren’t particularly interested because it didn’t include European aspects.

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“Kintu” dates back to the 1700s before Europe arrived. The language itself is very Ugandan even though it is  English. There’s quite a lot of Ugandan words and uniquely, the story itself is told like it’s spoken to Ugandans.

For all the fans of the African traditional culture and its beautiful practices as well as language, grab this book for an enticing read.

7. The Greedy Barbarian by Kakwenza Rukirabashaija

Famous Ugandan journalist and novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija’s book “The Greedy Barbarian” also won the 2021 International Writer of Courage award from the annual PEN Pinter Prize. The annual PEN Pinter Prize was established in 2009 in memory of Nobel-Laureate playwright Harold Pinter.

Kakwenza was  also arrested by the Ugandan security personnel for his book, “The Greedy Barbarian”.

Rukirabashaija was selected by the award-winning Zimbabwean novelist, playwright, filmmaker and activist Tsitsi Dangarembga as part of the prestigious PEN Pinter Prize, which goes to an author deemed to have fulfilled Harold Pinter’s aspiration to “define the real truth of our lives and our societies.”

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That year’s PEN Pinter Prize winner, Dangarembga, chose Rukirabashaija as the International Writer of Courage. It is an award for an author who is active in defense of freedom of expression, often at great risk to their own safety and liberty, with whom she  shared her prize.

“The Greedy Barbarian” is a fictionalized biography of The Ruling Party’s leader’s origin, his  rise to power and dictatorial rule of Uganda, disguised as a democracy. It goes all the way to reflect the political history of Uganda over the past 43 years. A very relatable topic centered on the lives of any common Ugandan and the traits of those In power. There could never be a better recommendation from the list Ugandan award winning books.

If you are a lover of politics with a drop of satire, grab this book and you will have a blast. In case you want to have a look at other interesting books, visit our previous book blogs for your next read.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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