Temwani Mgunda has said his success in the African Writer’s Awards should encourage Malawians to participate in regional and global competitions.

Speaking in an interview, the writer  whose poem Slums of Mbayani won in the prestigious 2022 African Writer’s Awards poetry category, said Malawian writers are not participating in international competitions.

“I have noted that Malawian writers are not taking part in global and regional competitions. That development will work against the development of our art. I hope that my win will act as a reminder that we still have international competitions out there,” said Mgunda.

Mgunda: The win should act as a reminder

He saw off competition from Kenyan Akal Mohan, Joshua Effiong of Nigeria, Ugandan Isabel Nowemigisha and Edmund Elume Nnane of Cameroon.

His poem centred on the theme of hope. It captured the life in slums where hope is elusive such that people just resign to their fate.

Mgunda said: “For a long time, this competition has been dominated by writers from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

“I am glad because my work will be read widely as it will be shared in different literary spaces by the African Writer’s Trust.

“It is the wish of every writer to have their work read by as many audiences as possible.”

Following the win, Slums of Mbayani will be part of an African anthology to be published soon. He also received a monetary token of $200.

Mgunda’s literary path started with writting short stories and poems to two of the country’s leading weekly publications, The Weekend Nation and Malawi News.

Some of his writings, for instance, the poem Tell No One is part of the Junior Certificate English syllabus while his short story The Bachelor of Chikanda is the title of an anthology published by Malawi Writer’s Union. 

“My goal is to publish a novel. I have been working on one since 2020. I am yet to find the right title, but its political centric,” Mgunda said.

He is currently working as regional editor of China Dialogue where he edits policy briefs on environmental and climate change. 

Seasoned writer and publisher Alfred Msadala has deplored the lack of Malawian writers aggression on opportunities mainly presented through the cyber space.

He said despite the potential that local writers possess, their participation in international engagements has been minimal.

Msadala said: “It seems we remain caged in the mediocre times. But we need to move with the rest of the world and look at everything through the right lens. Not everything that comes on the cyber space is harmful. There are a lot of opportunities there.”

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