Personal profile
Research interests
Billy Kahora’s short fiction and creative non-fiction has appeared in Chimurenga, McSweeney’s, Granta Online, Internazionale and Vanity Fair and Kwani?. He has written a short story collection titled The Cape Cod Bicycle War and Other Youthful Follies released in 2019 and a non-fiction book titled The True Story Of David Munyakei in 2012. His story Urban Zoning was shortlisted for the Caine Prize For African Literature in 2012, The Gorilla’s Apprentice in 2014. He wrote the screenplay for the film Soul Boy and co-wrote Nairobi Half Life which both won the Kalasha awards and shown on the European film festival circuit. He has finished a novel titled The Applications.
As former Managing Editor of Kwani Trust he edited 7 issues of the Kwani journal. He has also been a Contributing Editor with the Chimurenga Chronic. He recently edited the Sci-Fi anthology Imagine 500 with Malawiian writers. He has also been Kwani Litfest Curator since 2008 and recently curated Kwani Litfest 2015 Writers In Conversation: Beyond The Map Of English.
His research interests include narrative voice and multi-vocality in the novel; creative writing teaching histories and pedagogies; depictions of mental health in fiction; realisms, the short story and creative non-fiction.
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Research output
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Growing up Chinese in the face of Hollywood – a Nairobi childhood
Kahora, B. K., 30 Sept 2024, In: Safundi. 25, 3, p. 147-152Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate (Academic Journal)
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Can Nairobi 'World' without the 'Great Kenyan Novel'?
Kahora, B. K., 1 Dec 2022, African Literatures As World Literature. Fyfe, A. & Krishnan, M. (eds.). 1st ed. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, p. 37-45 (Literatures as World Literature).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter in a book
1 Citation (Scopus) -
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Arts Management and Literary Activism (AMLA) feasibility study and scoping exercise for literary translation and creative writing training provision in sub-Saharan Africa (Botswana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe)
Bush, R. A. L. (Principal Investigator), Krishnan, M. (Co-Investigator), Sides, K. B. (Co-Investigator), Kahora, B. K. (Co-Investigator) & Wallis, K. (Co-Investigator)
13/02/18 → 31/07/18
Project: Research
Activities
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Wasafiri (Publisher)
Kahora, B. K. (Guest editor)
Nov 2020Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editorial activity
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Ake Writers and Book Festival
Kahora, B. K. (Participant)
24 Oct 2019 → 27 Oct 2019Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in conference
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Wasafiri Writing Workshop
Kahora, B. K. (Participant)
2019Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course