By Ofuonyeadi Chukwudumebi Mercy

• Title: The Bell Is Ringing  
  
• Author: Martin Aliker
• Publisher: Fountain Publishers
• Number of pages: 251
• Year of publication: 2018
• Category: Autobiography 

History has always been of great relevance. Every society needs to be well informed of past events in order to tackle the various vital aspects that make up its present. Knowing full well the relevant role history plays in society, Martin Aliker, an elder statesman in Uganda, uses his autobiography, The Bell Is Ringing, to relate his account of the historical development of his country. Born during the colonial era of the then British Protectorate of Uganda, coupled with his father’s position in the country, Aliker possesses first class information on both colonial and post-colonial Uganda. More…

By Veronica Elias Ugian

• Title: Flame and Song
• Author: Phillipa Namutebi Kabali-Kagwa
• Publisher: Modjaji Books
• Number of pages: 189
• Year of publication: 2016
• Category: Memoir

‘To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right’. – Confucius

In 2016, the Ugandan author, Philippa Namutebi Kabali-Kagwa, published a memoir on family, memories and survival during the periods of political violence in Uganda. Weaving poetry and prose to narrate her journey from birth to adulthood, all the circumstances that surrounded her and her family and how they were able to live through political violence, she shows that sometimes home is not about places or aura but about people, and maybe we can make people our homes. More…

By Ekemini Pius

• Title: No More the Taming Hawks
  
• Author: ’Diran Ademiju-Bepo
• Publisher: Dynasty Gold Impact Books
• Number of pages: 79
• Year of publication: 2018
• Category: Drama

’Diran Ademiju-Bepo’s play, No More the Taming Hawks, serves as a timely reminder that drama is not dead, and that prose and poetry have not entirely overrun the Nigerian literary scene. The play itself was longlisted for the 2018 NLNG Prize for Literature and is the final book in a trilogy; the first book, Rhythm of the Wind, was presented at the Nigerian Universities Theatre Arts Festival in 1990. More…

By Ayodele Ibiyemi 

• Title: Deserted
  
• Author: Bob G Kisiki
• Publisher: Rhema Books
• Number of pages: 218
• Year of publication: 2016
• Category: Fiction

For Uganda, long years of dictatorship seem to have affected the volume of literature produced, which in any case focuses heavily on politics in the way South Africans focused on apartheid. Bob Kisiki, with four published novels, cannot be called a new author even though he does not enjoy the continent-wide fame that some of his contemporaries do. A complete man of the arts, he also writes songs, plays and newspaper columns, as well as short stories and poems. More…

By Timi Odueso

• Title: A Parliament of Owls
• Author: Adipo Sidang
• Publisher: Contact Books NRB
• Number of pages: 286
• Year of publication: 2016
• Category: Poetry

With 193 poems spread over four sections, Adipo Sidang’s A Parliament of Owls offers the prospect of universal inclusion with several poems that readers of every class or gender can connect with. More…

By Munah Nicola Tarpeh

• Title: Mr Hare Meets Mr Mandela
  
• Author: Chris van Wyk
• Illustrator: Paddy Bouma
• Publisher: Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd
• Number of pages: 30
• Year of publication: 2016
• Category: Children

‘Those who cannot read repeat their mistakes over and over…and so will you again’. – Mr Lion

Mr Hare Meets Mr Mandela by Chris van Wyk, a South African award-winning poet, short story writer and author of children’s books, deals with multiple themes like patriotism, bravery and the importance of being literate. These are complex themes that are presented in a very simple and humorous manner to teach children their importance.  More…

By Omotola Otubela

• Title: Tech Explorers League: Hacked!
  
• Author: Paul Kisakye
• Publisher: Aniseeker LLC
• Number of pages: 183
• Year of publication: 2016
• Category: Children

What is next for the Tech Explorers League after they win the science fair? What could they possibly do with their new robot, Tennis Ball, shortened to Tenba, the most talked-about creation in Mugabi Junior School? What kind of relationship do the children develop after emerging into the limelight? These are the questions that linger in the reader’s mind after reading Tech Explorers League: Rise of the Robot, the first book in the series by Paul Kisakye. Tech Explorers League: Hacked! is the sequel to Rise of the Robot.  More…

By Ayodele Ibiyemi 

• Title: A Story of Heroes and Epics: The History of Football in Nigeria
  
• Author: Wiebe Boer
• Publisher: Bookcraft Ltd
• Number of pages: 159
• Year of publication: 2018
• Category: History

Wiebe Boer’s fittingly titled A Story of Heroes and Epics: The History of Football in Nigeria adds to the lean catalogue of books on Nigerian football history. Boer was born and raised in Nigeria, and his book is an expansion of his PhD dissertation. In twelve chapters, he details the development of the game from 1904, before the geographical area became known as Nigeria. Relying on interviews, archives and newspaper articles he creates a masterfully crafted summary of his subject. More…

By Nureni Ibrahim 

• Title: With Pens that Shout and Mouths that Shut
  
• Editor: Rhymers Club, Nabisunsa Girls School
• Publisher: Bonacraft
• Number of pages: 105
• Year of publication: 2018
• Category: Poetry

With Pens that Shout and Mouths that Shut is an anthology that celebrates the rich vein of literary expression to be found amongst the young student-poets of Rhymers Club, a literary club in Nabisunsa Girls School, Uganda. The fifty-two poems in the book are divided into the following sections: ‘Prologue’, ‘School Life’, ‘Culture and Lifestyle’, ‘Politics’, and ‘Love’. The sixth section, ‘Epilogue’, has no poem under it. The poems are well-written in simple and straightforward English, though there are indigenous words in some poems which venerate the hybridisation of language in African poetry. The anthology touches most of the major thematic issues in African poetry: language, embracing African culture, the political maladies of the state and the astounding feelings of love.
More…

By Tolulope Odebunmi

• Title: Tales of Mother
• Author: Dupe Kuku
• Publisher: Coal Media
• Number of pages: 124
• Year of publication: 2018
• Category: Memoirs (Short Stories)

In this collection of stories and reminiscences, Ms Kuku immortalises her mother, Mrs Kuku, through a recollection of fond and not so fond memories from the younger Kuku’s childhood and adulthood. In Dupe Kuku’s attempt to keep Aya Kuku’s memory alive, the younger Kuku shares personal stories about friendship, mentorship and parenthood (motherhood). The tales in this collection will be relatable for people who grew up in southwestern Nigeria, especially millennials. More…