Books published by Femrite Publications

No Time to Mourn is a collection of short stories, poems, artwork and photography penned, produced and presented by South Sudanese women. It reflects the lives of the women writers and artists, and at the same time gives voice to the very real lived experiences and lives of every woman of South Sudanese heritage. The ideas and experiences in this book span decades they straddle borders, they cross continents and describe events that are hard to imagine, even with some knowledge of South Sudan's history. It is hard not to be moved as you read what many of these authors have lived through as they strive to achieve those basic of human rights: life, liberty and security. Through this book, we learn more about the cost of war and the value of peace, and how they affect women's abilities to found a home, bear and raise children, stay healthy and safe, secure education for themselves and their children, seek professional fulfilment and even fall in love, all while navigating society's often narrowly defined gender roles.

This poetry anthology offers a feast and face of poetry as it currently is in Uganda. It is all encompassing and presents a variety of writers ranging from seasoned voices to new ones of great promise. The voices are adventurous, reflective, provocative and even sassy. The poets explore with passion diverse themes from the private to the public realm reassuring the reader that poetry is about everything and is perhaps everything. The pages of this anthology pulsate with rhythmic variations that give unexpected pleasure and provoke the reader to be exceptionally alert. This is a welcome and priceless addition to Uganda Poetry Anthology 2000.

The Switch is the story of the travails of Chelimo , a brilliant young girl from Kapchorwa, Eastern Uganda, whose life, when she is circumcised, in accordance with the tradition of her tribe, takes a horrendous turn. Chelimo's struggles in the life are at odds with the promises she was given at circumcision and as a government minister, she embarks on a delicate personal crusade to ensure that the girls of her tribe do not ever have to face the dangers posed by the knife. But not everyone is happy with her crusade.

In Nothing to See Here, sixteen African women writers ably deal with the politics of nationhood and identity, and the burden and beauty of womanity. From the serious, to the absurd to the seriously absurd, these stories will leave you pondering, crying and laughing as you travel from East Africa to Southern Africa through to West Africa. A beautiful collection with 16 well-written, well-plotted stories from 16 amazing African female storytellers. - Zukiswa Warnner

One of the greatest challenges faced by African women writers is finding the time and the space to write. In November 2011 the third FEMRITE African Women Writers Residency alleviated this challenge for 15 women writers from 11 different countries across the continent. The writers from Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Tunisia, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon, and Botswana gathered in Kampala, Uganda for two weeks. This anthology is the product of the writing developed before and during the residency. The short stories included are told from different perspectives, with varied voices, some experienced, others less so, but all told with freshness and honesty.

Images of loneliness, seduction, unfulfilled dreams and torn lives emerge on the pages of this anthology to challenge readers to search for answers for a better life. The authors use The Role of Christianity as the running theme for most of the stories. This is a unique and interesting collection of stories about the life of teenagers. The stories, set in Uganda, offer rare insights into the emotional turbulence and social crises that usually remain unrecognisable and invisible to adults.

Female genital mutilation is the excruciating and damaging experience that Beyond the Dance a lot of women in many cultures across Africa and in many other parts of the world suffer. Even when the women find themselves, for one reason or another, relocate in what should be safe havens, this practice frequently follows them like a vengeance ghost. Beyond the dance is a compilation of testimonies and poems about the humiliation of female genital mutilation, and about the resulting deprivation and loss. It encompasses accounts, factual in some cases and lyrical in others, of the experience of this practice lived or witnessed, and the visceral responses to the practice. The anger is palpable, the bafflement tangible. Beside the pain, though, is the hope borne of the voices raised by governments, organisations, institutions and individuals, urging a stop to the practice and coaxing oft-unwilling communities into abandoning it or transforming it into a meaningful ritual that builds up rather than ruins. Through the pages of this volume we share the pain, thoughts, views and feelings of the victims of female genital cutting and of people concerned about the debilitating practice. We share the hope that they hold out for a firm and final end to the practice.