Meja Mwangi
Encyclopedia
Meja Mwangi is one of Kenya
's leading novelists. Mwangi has worked in the film industry, including screenwriting
, assistant directing
, casting
and location management
.
Mwangi was born in Nanyuki
, and was educated at Nanyuki Secondary School, Kenyatta College and the University of Leeds
. He then worked on odd-jobs for foreign broadcasters before he turned to full-time writing. He was Fellow in Writing at the University of Iowa
(1975-6).
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
's leading novelists. Mwangi has worked in the film industry, including screenwriting
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, assistant directing
Assistant director
The role of an Assistant director include tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, maintaining order on the set. They also have to take care of health and safety of the crew...
, casting
Casting (performing arts)
In the performing arts, casting is a pre-production process for selecting a cast of actors, dancers, singers, models and other talent for a live or recorded performance.-Casting process:...
and location management
Location manager
The Location Manager is responsible for the finding and securing locations to be used and coordinating the logistics involved for the production to successfully complete its necessary work...
.
Mwangi was born in Nanyuki
Nanyuki
Nanyuki is a market town in central-east Rift Valley region of Kenya lying northwest of Mount Kenya along the A2 road and at the terminus of the branch railway from Nairobi. It is situated just north of the Equator . It was founded in 1907 by British settlers, some of whose descendants still live...
, and was educated at Nanyuki Secondary School, Kenyatta College and the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
. He then worked on odd-jobs for foreign broadcasters before he turned to full-time writing. He was Fellow in Writing at the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
(1975-6).
Prizes and awards
- Jomo Kenyatta Prize, for Kill Me Quick (1974)
- Jomo Kenyatta Prize for, Going Down River Road (1977)
- Lotus Award (Afro-Asian Writers' Association) (1978)
- Noma AwardNoma AwardThe Noma Award for Publishing in Africa is a $10,000 prize for outstanding African writers and scholars who publish in Africa. Established in 1979, the award is annual and given to any new book published in three categories: literature, juvenile and scholarly...
(honourable mention), for Bread of Sorrow (1989) - Deutscher JugendliteraturpreisDeutscher JugendliteraturpreisThe Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's literature. It is Germany's only state-funded literary award. In the past, authors from many countries...
(German Youth Literature Prize), for Little White Man (1992) - Le Prix Lire au College, for Kariuki (1992)
- Jomo Kenyatta Prize for The Last Plague (2001)
- National Book Week Award (Kenya) for The Last Plague
- Nominated for International IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardInternational IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardThe International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is an international literary award for a work of fiction, jointly sponsored by the city of Dublin, Ireland and the company IMPAC. At €100,000 it is one of the richest literary prizes in the world...
, for The Last Plague (2002) - Society of School Librarians International Honor Book Award (USA), for The Mzungu Boy (2005)
- American Library AssociationAmerican Library AssociationThe American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
National Book for Children Award, for The Mzungu Boy (2006) - Children's Africana Book Award (best book for older readers), for The Mzungu Boy (2006)
Literary works
- Kill Me Quick (1973) ISBN 0435901435
- Going Down River Road (1976) ISBN 0435901761
- The Cockroach Dance (1979) ISBN 0582642760
- Carcase for HoundsCarcase for HoundsCarcase for Hounds is a novel by Kenyan writer Meja Mwangi first published in 1974. The novel concerns the Mau Mau liberation struggle during the latter days of British colonial rule and attempts, by the actions of the main protagonists, to show how Mau Mau was organized and why it took so long for...
(1974) ISBN 0435901451 - Taste of Death (1975)
- The Bushtrackers (1979) ISBN 0582785251
- Bread of Sorrow (1987)
- The Return of Shaka (1989)
- Weapon of Hunger (1989) ISBN 9966498133
- Striving for the Wind (1990) ISBN 0435909797
- The Last Plague (2000) ISBN 9966250646
- Mountain of Bones (2001)
- The Boy Gift (2006) ISBN 9781847284716
- Mama Dudu, the Insect Woman (2007) ISBN 9781847284686
- Baba Pesa (2007) ISBN 9780979647611
- The Big Chiefs (2007) ISBN 9780979647635
- Gun Runner (2007) ISBN 9780979647604
- Power (2009) ISBN 9780979647697
- Blood Brothers (2009) ISBN 9780982012604
Filmography
- Out of Africa (1985), assistant director
- White MischiefWhite MischiefWhite Mischief is a 1987 film dramatising the events of the Happy Valley murder case in Kenya in 1941, when Sir Henry "Jock" Delves Broughton was tried for the murder of Josslyn Hay, Earl of Erroll....
(1987, second assistant director - The Kitchen TotoThe Kitchen TotoThe Kitchen Toto is a 1987 British drama film directed by Harry Hook and starring Edwin Mahinda, Bob Peck and Phyllis Logan. In Kenya 1950, a British policeman takes a murdered black priest's son to live with him at his home as a houseboy.-Cast:...
, casting director - Gorillas in the Mist (1985), assistant director
- Shadow On The Sun (1988), location manager