Binyavanga Wainaina

Kenyan writer (1971–2019)

Binyavanga Wainaina (18 January 1971 – 21 May 2019) was a Kenyan writer. In July 2002 he won the Caine Prize For African Writing for his short story "Discovering Home". He started Kwani? magazine. His first book, One Day I Will Write About This Place, was published in 2011.

Binyavanga Wainaina
Wainaina at the 2009 Brooklyn Book Festival.
Wainaina at the 2009 Brooklyn Book Festival.
Born(1971-01-18)18 January 1971
Nakuru, Kenya
Died21 May 2019(2019-05-21) (aged 48)
Nairobi, Kenya
OccupationNovelist, short story writer
NationalityKenyan
GenreAuthor, journalist
Notable awards2002 Caine Prize

Early life

change

Wainaina was born in Nakuru.

Personal life

change

In 2014 he tweeted that he is gay.[1] In 2016, he was diagnosed with HIV.[2]

Wainaina died after a stroke in Nairobi on 21 May 2019, aged 48.[3]

References

change
  1. Howden, Daniel (21 January 2014). "Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina declares: 'I am homosexual'" – via www.theguardian.com.
  2. Binyavanga Wainaina [@BinyavangaW] (1 December 2016). "i am HiV Positive, and happy" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. "Binyavanga Wainaina, 1971–2019, RIP". Retrieved 2019-05-22.