Meja Mwangi (born 1948) is one of
KenyaThe Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...
's leading novelists. Mwangi has worked in the film industry, including
screenwritingScreenwriters or scenarists or scriptwriters are people in a film crew who write/create the screenplays from which films and television programs are made....
,
assistant directingAn assistant director is a person who helps the filmmaker in the making of a movie or television show. The duties of an AD include setting the shooting schedule, tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking the arrival...
,
castingIn the performing arts, casting is a vital pre-production process for selecting a cast of actors, dancers, singers, models and other talent for a live or recorded performance....
and
location managementThe 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...
.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Meja Mwangi' Start a new discussion about 'Meja Mwangi' Answer questions from other users |
Meja Mwangi (born 1948) is one of
KenyaThe Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...
's leading novelists. Mwangi has worked in the film industry, including
screenwritingScreenwriters or scenarists or scriptwriters are people in a film crew who write/create the screenplays from which films and television programs are made....
,
assistant directingAn assistant director is a person who helps the filmmaker in the making of a movie or television show. The duties of an AD include setting the shooting schedule, tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking the arrival...
,
castingIn the performing arts, casting is a vital pre-production process for selecting a cast of actors, dancers, singers, models and other talent for a live or recorded performance....
and
location managementThe 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
NanyukiNanyuki is a market town in central Kenya, lying north west 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 in and around the town....
, and was educated at Nanyuki Secondary School, Kenyatta College and the
University of LeedsThe University of Leeds is a major teaching and research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire and, with over 33,000 full-time students, is the second largest single site university in the United Kingdom. In the world university league tables published in November 2008, the university's ‘employer...
. 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 IowaThe University of Iowa is a public research university located in Iowa City, Iowa. 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 Award
The Noma award for publishing in Africa is a $10,000 prize for outstanding literature published in Africa. The award is sponsored by Kodansha Ltd, Japan.- Winners :1980:Une Si Longue Lettre by Mariama Bâ1981:...
(honourable mention), for Bread of Sorrow (1989)
- Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
The 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 Award
The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is the largest prize worldwide for a single work of fiction published in English. Nominations are submitted by public libraries worldwide...
, for The Last Plague (2002)
- Society of School Librarians International Honor Book Award (USA), for The Mzungu Boy (2005)
- American Library Association
The 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 65,000 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 Hounds
Carcase 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 Mischief
White 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 Toto, casting director
- Gorillas in the Mist (1985), assistant director
- Shadow On The Sun (1988), location manager
External links