Eastern African Literary and Publishing Networks in the 1960s and 1970s

University of Nairobi – 10-11 August 2026

Prospective speakers are invited to share a title and 300-word abstract with a brief biography (no more than 100 words) with the conference organisers at nairobiliterarynetworks@gmail.com. 

Deadline for the submission of abstracts: 15 March 2026.

This conference intends to draw together conversations between scholars working on this significant period in Eastern Africa’s literary history, placing particular emphasis on the importance of Eastern Africa-based publishers, collaborative exchanges and relationships in this period to the production of an African literary canon.
Through this dialogue, we want to explore questions such as: How did these literary and publishing initiatives emerge and how were they sustained? How did arts spaces, publishers and literary magazines in Eastern Africa support the work of writers in this period? What factors influenced publishing decisions? How important were changing educational structures and curricula to literary production? What were the interrelationships between independent African-owned publishing initiatives and international or government-owned publishers? What different geographical affiliations were brought together through writing communities and publishing initiatives (local, national, regional, pan-African, international) in this period? How inclusive were these literary and publishing networks (particularly in relation to constructions of gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity)? What traditions did they destabilize or inaugurate? How can we better document and recognize the significance of Eastern Africa-based collaborative exchanges for an African literary canon?

CFP Eastern African Literary and Publishing Networks in the 1960s and 1970s