Caine Prize for African Writing
1 appearances
-
Edition 3 (2002) Winner
Binyavanga Wainaina
ビニャヴァンガ・ワイナイナ
Binyavanga Wainaina
Pen Names:
Binyavanga wa Muigai（Used in essays and letters (alternative full name)）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1971-01-18 （Nakuru, Kenya）
- Died
- 2019-05-21 （Nairobi, Kenya） age 48
- Nationality
- Kenyan
- Languages
- English, Swahili, Gikuyu
- Residence History
- Nakuru (birth / childhood) → Cape Town, South Africa — freelance writing period → Nairobi (base) → Schenectady, NY (residence / writer-in-residence) → Williamstown, MA (residence / teaching)
Career
- Occupations
- author, journalist, editor, memoirist, short-story writer
- Active Years
- 1991-2019
- Affiliations
- Founding editor of Kwani? (Kwani Trust), Bard College (Director, Chinua Achebe Center for African Literature and Languages), Granta (contributor)
- Influenced By
- Chinua Achebe
- Influenced
- Contemporary African writers influenced via Kwani? literary movement, Writers such as Yvonne Owuor
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moi Primary School | — | — | — | — | Kenya |
| Mangu High School | — | — | — | — | Kenya |
| Lenana School | — | — | — | — | Kenya |
| University of Transkei | — | — | — | 1991–199? | South Africa |
| University of East Anglia | — | Creative Writing (MPhil) | MPhil | — | United Kingdom |
Moi Primary School
Country:
Kenya
Primary education (Nakuru)
Mangu High School
Country:
Kenya
Secondary education
Lenana School
Country:
Kenya
Secondary education in Nairobi
University of Transkei
Period:
1991–199?
Country:
South Africa
Moved to South Africa in 1991 to study commerce
University of East Anglia
Creative Writing (MPhil)
Degree:
MPhil
Year of Graduation:
2010
Country:
United Kingdom
Completed an MPhil in Creative Writing in 2010
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Caine Prize for African Writing | Discovering Home (short story) | — | Caine Prize | winner |
| 2014 | Time 100 (Most Influential People) | — | — | Time magazine | included |
| 2003 | Kenya Publishers Association award (for services to Kenyan literature) | — | — | Kenya Publishers Association | recipient |
Caine Prize for African Writing
2002
Work:
Discovering Home (short story)
Organization:
Caine Prize
Result:
winner
Time 100 (Most Influential People)
2014
Organization:
Time magazine
Result:
included
Kenya Publishers Association award (for services to Kenyan literature)
2003
Organization:
Kenya Publishers Association
Result:
recipient
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
How to Write About Africa
2005 satire / essayA satirical essay critiquing how Western media and writers often stereotype and homogenize Africa, treating the continent as a single country and emphasizing suffering and exoticism.
representation and stereotypespostcolonial critiqueidentity
One Day I Will Write About This Place: A Memoir
2011 memoir / autobiography 320 pagesA memoir recounting his youth and adulthood in Nakuru and across East Africa, exploring family, identity and his development as a writer.
homecoming of agemigration and belonging
Translations
Discovering Home
2001 short storyA short story about home and belonging; associated with his Caine Prize recognition.
belonginghome
Bibliography
- "Discovering Home" (short story), 2001
- "An Affair to Dismember" (short story), Wasafiri, 2002
- "Beyond the River Yei: Life in the Land Where Sleeping is a Disease" (photographic essay), 2004
- "How To Write About Africa" (essay), Granta, 2005
- One Day I Will Write About This Place: A Memoir, 2011
- "I am a homosexual, mum" (essay), 2014
- "A Letter to All Kenyans from Binyavanga Wainaina or Binyavanga wa Muigai" (essay), 2017
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- direct, witty voiceuse of irony and satirereflective, personal narrative
- Recurring Motifs
- home and belongingproblems of representation (Africa)food culture and everyday life
Health
-
HIV positive2016–2019Announced publicly in 2016. His disclosure influenced public discussion and awareness around HIV and LGBT issues.
-
stroke2016–2019Experienced multiple strokes from 2016 and died following a stroke in May 2019.
Legacy
Wainaina was a leading voice in contemporary African literature, founding the Kwani? platform for emerging writers and provoking international debate with pieces like the satirical "How to Write About Africa." He was also notable for his public stance on LGBT and HIV issues.
Academic Societies
- Kwani Trust (literary platform)
Archives
- Binyavanga Wainaina Archive (planetbinya.org, unofficial)
- Various newspaper and magazine archives (The Guardian, Granta, etc.)
In Popular Culture
- Included in Time magazine's Time 100 (2014)
- Frequently cited as a central figure in discussions on African literature and media representation
Quotes
-
“One must treat Africa as if it were one country... [of] 900 million people who are too busy starving and dying and warring and emigrating to read your book.”
Source: Granta (essay "How to Write About Africa"), 2005 (2005)
Trivia
- He reportedly collected over 13,000 recipes from across Africa.
- He publicly declared that he was gay in 2014.
- He announced he was HIV positive in 2016.