The whirligig of promotional duties continue here in Kenya. This morning I was up at 6am to appear on one of Nairobi’s more unusual talk shows. One set in a matatu. Basically, a brightly coloured matatu, fitted out with cameras, drives out to the suburbs of Nairobi and the presenters try to convince punters to  Read more »

Ben Okri and Hari Kunzru. Literary legends. Fellow Storymoja Hay Festival guests. And I got them to pose with me next to a sign about public urination. I guess that’s just the kind of guy I am.

There’s an old Chinese saying that goes ‘May you live in interesting times.’ It’s regarded as a curse. ‘Interesting’ times tend to be troublesome and uncomfortable and generally a bit of a pain in the butt. Research has shown it’s not an ancient Chinese proverb after all but rather an ‘Orientalism’ made up in the  Read more »

The bags are packed and it’s nearly time to head off to Heathrow to catch my flight to Nairobi and the Storymoja Hay Festival. Not sure what kind of inflight meal Ethiopian Airlines will provide. I’m just hoping it’s not injera. But before I leave I want to leave you with another guest blog about  Read more »

The guys at the Storymoja Hay Festival asked me if I’d mind posting some guest blogs from some of the up-and-coming writers who’ll be attending the festival. It’s not something I’ve done before but I thought “Why not?” These guys are flying me over to Nairobi and putting me up so it’s the least I  Read more »

This time next week I’ll be arriving in Nairobi after an overnight flight from London with Ethiopian Airlines. I’ve been invited to take part in the Storymoja Hay Festival, you see, and I can’t wait. I’m going to be in august company. Booker Prize winner Ben Okri. Pulitzer Prize winner Yusef Komunyakaa. And me. Junior  Read more »

My friend Marie is in Madagascar at the moment. She’s is the middle of a big around-the-world adventure. Along the way she likes to be set souvenir quests. So I dug out a pick I took when I visited Madagascar back in 2000 of two women selling Lemur lamps and asked her to buy me  Read more »

The eBook version of my journey from Cape Town to Cairo is now available on Amazon worldwide. It’s currently only available as a Kindle book, but with the vast range of free reading apps that Amazon offer you’ll be able to read it on any device you own. To download your version simply follow the  Read more »

Those of you who have read Swahili for the Broken-Hearted know that I didn’t quite make it to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Me and the bright pink fleece my guide gave me didn’t quite have what it takes. I’ve always felt bad about it. Even more so now that every man and his dog  Read more »

2006 has been the Year of Unfinished Projects for me: Crikey … Vroom 2 … the trip to Russia. I thought it was because of laziness. But according to the latest issue of Glamour -Sally brought it home – it’s because Saturn spent the year playing silly buggers with Cancerians. Nevertheless I was heartened by  Read more »