County Government of Laikipia

Can writing change the world? For Muthoni wa Gichuru the answer is yes.

A Laikipian born and raised in Matanya, Muthoni is an award-winning prolific writer with over ten titles to her name. She writes fiction for children and young adults themed on social justice and equity.

The mother of three who attended Tigithi Primary School and Gatero Secondary School holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Sciences from Moi University.

Her writing nurtures growth and development of young adults' personalities and social skills.

It provides a pleasurable reading experience for young people, emphasizing real life experience and problems in easier-to-grasp ways and depicts societal functions.

Her book, The Carving was the winner of the 2018 CODE Burt Prize for African Young Adult Literature Kenya.

It is a story of a disabled boy with a talent for art who is forced to leave school and take up manual work when his mother falls ill. His father had abandoned the family years before, but a concerned teacher intervenes and gets the boy back to school.

Despite frequent bullying by other students, he wins an art competition that marks a turning point in his life.

The story is personal to me because I have a brother who has physical disability, Muthoni says.

This writing with power about personal and social issues can help create awareness about disability as it shows that there is no limitation to what one can achieve.

In another of her titles, Breaking the Silence(2012), Muthoni writes about sexual abuse. It is a story of a girl who was gang-raped and tells of her experience.

This book was from her first manuscript that she wrote in 2003 and it was not until 2010 when it was finally published by East African Education Publishers (EAEP). It went on to be the 1^st runners up for the Jomo Kenyatta Literature Prize, 2011.

She has also won Burt Award for African Writing second prize 2016 and Africalia's Creative-Is-Life-Grants Scholar 2020. She has been shortlisted for Africa Book Club Short Prize 2018, Queen Mary Wasafiri Writing Prize (2019), life-writing category among others.

Her inspiration in writing is the need to tell a story, to see or know that her readers are enjoying the story she has written. She says that her late mother was a great story teller and she tries to follow in her footsteps.

In writing, she keeps it simple and writes stories that are relatable.

Another of her book, Kefa's Quest is the coming-of-age story of Kefa, who faces overwhelming challenges at the onset of adulthood. The characters grow and experience fundamental changes in their lives.

As Kefa matures, his perspective changes and he gradually loses his innocence. The other character, Zuri, also undergoes a remarkable change, from a self-centered teenager to a person who is willing to help others.

The issues in the story touch on what many young adults go through both societal and age-bound.

Through her writing she is able to cultivate and develop a love and passion for reading.

There's one rule I write by. Don't be boring. Don't capture the mundane and the ordinary but what is exciting and thought provoking. I also use a lot of humor. she adds.

Having 12 published books, her advice to young and upcoming writers is not to worry whether what they have written is good or bad.

They should share it with their family and friends and after that, share with people who will be objective in their appraisal. Muthoni adds that writing is a labor of love and as Kenyans, we should tell our stories or someone else will.

Muthoni has also published seven anthologies Fresh Paint volume 2 (2015),Moonscapes (2016), The wrong Patient and Other Stories (2018), Kweli Journal , 2019, Wasafiri Journal, 2020, Africalia, Creativity is life, 2020, International Women Writers Guild: Our Stories, Ourselves (2021).

(Source: CGL E-Newsletter Issue 0041)