African writers you should know: Ellen Banda-Aaku

Ellen Banda-Aaku is an award-winning Zambian writer. Her first book, Wandis Little Voice won the 2004 Macmillan Writers Prize for Africa (UK). Her first novel, Patchwork won the Penguin Prize for African Writing and was shortlisted for the 2012 Commonwealth Book prize.

Her outstanding achievements in literature won her the 2012 Zambia Arts Council Chairperson’s Award. She splits her time between Zambia and UK but managed to talk with me in the middle of her busy schedule.

Tell me a bit about how you started writing.

Editor's Comment
Students wellbeing is a priority

The research presented at the recent Botswana Secondary School Teachers Union symposium should serve as a wake-up call to us all.We are so focused on coding, artificial intelligence, and the jobs of tomorrow that we are neglecting the basic safety and emotional well-being of the children sitting in our classrooms today.Statistics are deeply worrying. One study revealed that 34% of secondary school learners in Gaborone meet the criteria for a...

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