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'''Moraa Gitaa''' is a [[Kenya]]n novelist, Peace Studies and Conflict Management researcher, cultural
'''Moraa Gitaa''' is a [[Kenya]]n novelist. She is the author of the novels ''[https://storymojaafrica.com/products/hila Hila]'' and ''[https://www.burtaward.org/book/the-shark-attack Shark Attack]'' among other works. She is a Social Protection and Peace & Conflict Studies practitioner. Gitaa was one of the Kenya Chapter winners of the 2014 Burt Award for African Literature<ref>{{cite web|title=Announcement of Nominees for the 2014 BURT Award For African Literature Competition|url=http://www.nationalbookcouncilkenya.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=82:announcement-of-nominees-for-the-2014-burt-award-for-african-literature-competition&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=58|accessdate=17 March 2014}}</ref> and nominated for the 2010 Penguin Prize for African Writing<ref>{{cite web|title=Shortlists for the Inaugural Penguin Prize for African Writing|url=http://penguin.bookslive.co.za/blog/2010/06/30/shortlists-for-the-inaugural-penguin-prize-for-african-writing/|work=Penguin SA|accessdate=12 September 2013}}</ref> and also won First Prize in the National Book Development Council of Kenya (NBDCK) Adult Fiction literary award in 2008 (Kenya's National Book Week Literary Award.)<ref>{{cite web|title=National Book Development Council of Kenya Literary Award (2003?-2010?)|url=https://www.indiana.edu/~libsalc/africa/scripts/awards1.php?award=247|work=African Book Awards Database|accessdate=16 September 2013}}</ref> She is a member of [[PEN International]], the World Association of Writers.
advocate and arts curator. She is the author of the YA novels [https://www.amazon.com/Lets-Talk-About-Moraa-Gitaa-ebook/dp/B08F8YQY3F/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&amp;keywords=9781735287485&amp;qid=1598437993&amp;sr=8-1 Let’s Talk About This], [https://www.amazon.com/Kigango-Oracle-Moraa-Gitaa-ebook/dp/B08F8WV89G/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&amp;keywords=The+Kigango+oracle&amp;qid=1598437790&amp;sr=8-1 The Kigango Oracle], ''[https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/72431989-hila Hila]'' and ''[https://www.burtaward.org/book/the-shark-attack Shark Attack]'' among other works. Moraa was a 2017 apexart Fellow.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apexart.org/fellowship/gitaa.php|title=apexart :: International Fellow :: Moraa Gitaa|website=apexart.org|access-date=2017-03-11}}</ref> Moraa was one of the Kenya Chapter winners of the 2014 Burt Award for African Literature<ref>{{cite web|title=Announcement of Nominees for the 2014 BURT Award For African Literature Competition|url=http://www.nationalbookcouncilkenya.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=82:announcement-of-nominees-for-the-2014-burt-award-for-african-literature-competition&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=58|accessdate=17 March 2014}}</ref> and shortlisted for the 2010 Penguin Prize for African Writing<ref>{{cite web|title=Shortlists for the Inaugural Penguin Prize for African Writing|url=http://penguin.bookslive.co.za/blog/2010/06/30/shortlists-for-the-inaugural-penguin-prize-for-african-writing/|work=Penguin SA|accessdate=12 September 2013}}</ref> and also won First Prize in the National Book Development Council of Kenya (NBDCK) Adult Fiction literary award in 2008 (Kenya's National Book Week Literary Award.)<ref>{{cite web|title=National Book Development Council of Kenya Literary Award (2003?-2010?)|url=https://www.indiana.edu/~libsalc/africa/scripts/awards1.php?award=247|work=African Book Awards Database|accessdate=16 September 2013}}</ref> She is a member of [[PEN International]], the World Association of Writers, Vice President of PEN Kenya. Moraa is also a Board Member on the Executive Committee of Creative Writers Association of Kenya (C-WAK).


==Career==
==Career==


Moraa Gitaa has worked for more than 15 years with various organizations among them the British Council, Aga Khan Foundation and PEN Kenya Centre across a spectrum of Sustainable Livelihoods, Arts for Social Change, Social Justice/Protection, Governance and Peace & Conflict [https://www.linkedin.com/in/moraa-gitaa-0678549/]
Moraa Gitaa works and writes at intersections of gender, social justice, arts for positive social change, feminist politics, sustainable livelihoods and social enterprise. She has worked for more than 15 years with various organizations among them the British Council, Aga Khan Foundation and PEN Kenya Centre across a broad spectrum [https://www.linkedin.com/in/moraa-gitaa-0678549/]


Gitaa's first full-length novel, ''Crucible for Silver and Furnace for Gold'', centres on two characters: Lavina, an African woman living with [[HIV]], and Giorgio, an Italian man whom Lavina meets on vacation.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gitaa|first=Moraa|title=Crucible for silver and furnace for gold|year=2008|publisher=Nsemia Publishers|location=[Oakville, Ont.]|isbn=0981036228|pages=276|edition=1st}}</ref> Gitaa's second novel is ''Shifting Sands''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gitaa|first=Moraa|title=Shifting Sands|year=2012|publisher=Nsemia Inc.|isbn=978-1-926906-04-1}}</ref> Gitaa's recent work is a crime fiction novella, ''Hila'', YA Burt Award-winning title ''The Shark Attack!'', and children's book, ''The Con Artiste''.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}}
Moraa Gitaa's debut full-length Adult Fiction novel, ''Crucible for Silver and Furnace for Gold'', centres on two characters: Lavina, a Kenyan African woman living with [[HIV]], and Giorgio, an Italian man whom Lavina meets on vacation in Malindi on Kenya’s coast.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gitaa|first=Moraa|title=Crucible for silver and furnace for gold|year=2008|publisher=Nsemia Publishers|location=[Oakville, Ont.]|isbn=0981036228|pages=276|edition=1st}}</ref> Moraa's sophomore novel is ''Shifting Sands''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gitaa|first=Moraa|title=Shifting Sands|year=2012|publisher=Nsemia Inc.|isbn=978-1-926906-04-1}}</ref>


''Crucible for Silver and Furnace for Gold'' has been described by reviewers as a re-reading and re-writing of gender in times of [[HIV]].<ref>{{cite news|title=A Critique of Friendship across Race and Tribe in two Kenyan Novels|url=http://literature.uonbi.ac.ke/node/785|accessdate=14 August 2013}}</ref> Her work on ''Shifting Sands'' received a positive review in the ''[[Nairobi Star]]'' from Khainga O' Okwemba, who said: "Here is a writer with the patience, perseverance and discipline needed to create vivid characters. Here is a contemporary Kenyan writer capable of bedazzling and cajoling the reader with a skillfully written and scintillating narrative.... Shifting Sands is a must read for literature students."<ref>{{cite web|title=Moraa Gitaa Is a Must-Read Author|url=http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2013/02/07/moraa-gitaa-is-a-must-read-auther_c735416|work=The Star|location=Nairobi|date=7 February 2013|accessdate=9 August 2017}}</ref> Gitaa's stories focus on vulnerable and typically marginalized members of contemporary African society, such as those afflicted with HIV.<ref>{{cite news|last=Evan|first=Mwangi|title=Kenya: Books: Kenyan Writers Open Debate On New Corruption Frontiers|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200603060338.html|date=5 March 2006|accessdate=14 August 2013|newspaper=Daily Nation|via=All Africa}}</ref>
''Crucible for Silver and Furnace for Gold'' has been critiqued by scholars as a re-reading and re-writing of gender in times of [[HIV]].<ref>{{cite news|title=A Critique of Friendship across Race and Tribe in two Kenyan Novels|url=http://literature.uonbi.ac.ke/node/785|accessdate=14 August 2013}}</ref> Her work on ''Shifting Sands'' received a positive review in the ''[[Nairobi Star]]'' from Khainga O' Okwemba, who said: "Here is a writer with the patience, perseverance and discipline needed to create vivid characters. Here is a contemporary Kenyan writer capable of bedazzling and cajoling the reader with a skillfully written and scintillating narrative.... Shifting Sands is a must read for literature students."<ref>{{cite web|title=Moraa Gitaa Is a Must-Read Author|url=http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2013/02/07/moraa-gitaa-is-a-must-read-auther_c735416|work=The Star|location=Nairobi|date=7 February 2013|accessdate=9 August 2017}}</ref> Gitaa's stories focus on the vulnerable, underserved, marginal and marginalized
members of contemporary African society.<ref>{{cite news|last=Evan|first=Mwangi|title=Kenya: Books: Kenyan Writers Open Debate On New Corruption Frontiers|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200603060338.html|date=5 March 2006|accessdate=14 August 2013|newspaper=Daily Nation|via=All Africa}}</ref>


Gitaa's short stories have been featured in various [[anthology|anthologies]] including ''Transition Magazine'', <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/transition-121|title=Transtition Magazine, Issue 121|access-date=2018-08-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104202543/http://hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/transition-121|archive-date=2017-11-04|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Pen OutWrite'', <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pen-outwrite.org/obscure-oddities-moraa-gitaa|title=Pen Outwrite, Obscure Oddities}}</ref> ''Hekaya Initiative''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hekaya.co.ke/2018/04/11/jihadi-brides|title=Hekaya Initiative, Jihadi Brides}}</ref>'', Author-Me Author Africa Anthology'' (2011), ''Author-Me Author Africa Anthology'' (2008), and ''G21 The World's Magazine – Africa Fresh! New Voices from the First Continent'' (2007).
Moraa’s non-fiction and short stories have been featured in: ''Harvard University’s Transition Magazine'', <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/transition-121|title=Transtition Magazine, Issue 121|access-date=2018-08-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104202543/http://hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/transition-121|archive-date=2017-11-04|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''PEN International’s PEN OutWrite,'', <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pen-outwrite.org/obscure-oddities-moraa-gitaa|title=Pen Outwrite, Obscure Oddities}}</ref> IFLAC’S Peace & Anti-Terror Anthology, Spotlight Publisher’s Waiting and Other Stories, Creatives
Garage Anthology, several Author Me Anthologies, several G21 The World’s Magazine Anthologies including ‘Africa Fresh! New Voices from the First Continent’, The African Magazine, and ''Hekaya Initiative''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hekaya.co.ke/2018/04/11/jihadi-brides|title=Hekaya Initiative, Jihadi Brides}}</ref>


In 2014 ''James Murua's Literary'' <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jamesmurua.com/39-top-english-language-african-novelists-under-40|title=James Murua's Literary, 39 Top English Language African Novelists under 40}}</ref>included Moraa in a list of 39 top African novelists under the age of 40 writing in English
She has published a number of short stories among them "Searching Me", "Katsanga Kenye", "The Devil is in the Detail", "To Serenity via Perdition", "Diplomatic Impunity", "Obscure Oddities", "From Shifting Sands to Deeper Dimensions". She has just completed a couple of children’s books and is currently writing a childhood memoir on challenges of Dyscalculia/Dyslexia and depression.

Gitaa was the apexart NYC fellow, from 28 February to 29 March 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apexart.org/fellowship/gitaa.php|title=apexart :: International Fellow :: Moraa Gitaa|website=apexart.org|access-date=2017-03-11}}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 15:49, 26 August 2020

Moraa Gitaa
NationalityKenyan
Alma materAfrica Nazarene University, Nairobi - BA in Peace and Conflict Studies

Moraa Gitaa is a Kenyan novelist, Peace Studies and Conflict Management researcher, cultural advocate and arts curator. She is the author of the YA novels Let’s Talk About This, The Kigango Oracle, Hila and Shark Attack among other works. Moraa was a 2017 apexart Fellow.[1] Moraa was one of the Kenya Chapter winners of the 2014 Burt Award for African Literature[2] and shortlisted for the 2010 Penguin Prize for African Writing[3] and also won First Prize in the National Book Development Council of Kenya (NBDCK) Adult Fiction literary award in 2008 (Kenya's National Book Week Literary Award.)[4] She is a member of PEN International, the World Association of Writers, Vice President of PEN Kenya. Moraa is also a Board Member on the Executive Committee of Creative Writers Association of Kenya (C-WAK).

Career

Moraa Gitaa works and writes at intersections of gender, social justice, arts for positive social change, feminist politics, sustainable livelihoods and social enterprise. She has worked for more than 15 years with various organizations among them the British Council, Aga Khan Foundation and PEN Kenya Centre across a broad spectrum [1]

Moraa Gitaa's debut full-length Adult Fiction novel, Crucible for Silver and Furnace for Gold, centres on two characters: Lavina, a Kenyan African woman living with HIV, and Giorgio, an Italian man whom Lavina meets on vacation in Malindi on Kenya’s coast.[5] Moraa's sophomore novel is Shifting Sands.[6]

Crucible for Silver and Furnace for Gold has been critiqued by scholars as a re-reading and re-writing of gender in times of HIV.[7] Her work on Shifting Sands received a positive review in the Nairobi Star from Khainga O' Okwemba, who said: "Here is a writer with the patience, perseverance and discipline needed to create vivid characters. Here is a contemporary Kenyan writer capable of bedazzling and cajoling the reader with a skillfully written and scintillating narrative.... Shifting Sands is a must read for literature students."[8] Gitaa's stories focus on the vulnerable, underserved, marginal and marginalized members of contemporary African society.[9]

Moraa’s non-fiction and short stories have been featured in: Harvard University’s Transition Magazine, [10] PEN International’s PEN OutWrite,, [11] IFLAC’S Peace & Anti-Terror Anthology, Spotlight Publisher’s Waiting and Other Stories, Creatives Garage Anthology, several Author Me Anthologies, several G21 The World’s Magazine Anthologies including ‘Africa Fresh! New Voices from the First Continent’, The African Magazine, and Hekaya Initiative[12]

In 2014 James Murua's Literary [13]included Moraa in a list of 39 top African novelists under the age of 40 writing in English

References

  1. ^ "apexart :: International Fellow :: Moraa Gitaa". apexart.org. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  2. ^ "Announcement of Nominees for the 2014 BURT Award For African Literature Competition". Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Shortlists for the Inaugural Penguin Prize for African Writing". Penguin SA. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  4. ^ "National Book Development Council of Kenya Literary Award (2003?-2010?)". African Book Awards Database. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  5. ^ Gitaa, Moraa (2008). Crucible for silver and furnace for gold (1st ed.). [Oakville, Ont.]: Nsemia Publishers. p. 276. ISBN 0981036228.
  6. ^ Gitaa, Moraa (2012). Shifting Sands. Nsemia Inc. ISBN 978-1-926906-04-1.
  7. ^ "A Critique of Friendship across Race and Tribe in two Kenyan Novels". Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  8. ^ "Moraa Gitaa Is a Must-Read Author". The Star. Nairobi. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  9. ^ Evan, Mwangi (5 March 2006). "Kenya: Books: Kenyan Writers Open Debate On New Corruption Frontiers". Daily Nation. Retrieved 14 August 2013 – via All Africa.
  10. ^ "Transtition Magazine, Issue 121". Archived from the original on 2017-11-04. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  11. ^ "Pen Outwrite, Obscure Oddities".
  12. ^ "Hekaya Initiative, Jihadi Brides".
  13. ^ "James Murua's Literary, 39 Top English Language African Novelists under 40".
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