Half Portraits Under Water: In Conversation with Dennis Mugaa

When we talk about the future of Kenyan writing, plenty of names that are placing us on the global literary map will crop up, and Dennis will certainly be leading that pack. He already has some wins under his belt, such as the 2022 Black Warrior Review Fiction Contest, in addition to being shortlisted for Isele Magazine’s inaugural Short Story Prize and being long-listed for the 2021 Afritondo Short Story Prize.

His debut short story collection Half Portraits Under Water was published in 2024, and this is what Yvonne Adhiambo Owour, Caine Prize winner and best selling author, has to say about the book:

Half Portraits Under Water by Dennis Mugaa. Poignant, lyrical, sensitive. Mosaics of a people, a restless continent in coming-of-age cycles. Reflective and beautiful, right from the first sentence. Timelines of Kenya’s contemporary history are projected in tender story vignettes etched into the lives of a composite of young people who are multi-local, multi-vocal, and pluralistic.

Watch the full podcast episode on our YouTube channel