Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor
Kenya
Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor was born in Nairobi, Kenya. She studied English and History at the Kenyatta University, earned a Master of Arts degree at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, and a Master of Philosophy in Creative Writing from the University of Queensland, Brisbane. Her short story, The Weight of Whispers, published by the literary magazine Kwani?, earned her the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2003. Owuor’s highly acclaimed debut novel, Dust (2014), is a recounting of a story of Kenya’s hidden pasts, and was shortlisted for the Folio Prize. Her second novel, The Dragonfly Sea, a coming-of-age story that explores aspects of East African sea imagination in a time of China’s return to its milieu, was published in 2019. Owuor’s short stories, articles, and essays appear widely in various publications including McSweeney’s, and the anthology Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby. Yvonne has also contributed articles to various scholarly journals including the Eastern African Literary and Cultural Studies. For her artistic and cultural contributions, Owuor received a Head of State Commendation from the president of Kenya in 2016. Yvonne is also active in the environmental and conservation sector, and is keen about transoceanic, transregional, and pluriversal explorations.
