Malawi Writers

Ekari Mbvundula

Author of short story eBook “Montague’s Last”.

• Female
• 29 Years Old
• 2nd Prize Winner of Nigerian Writing Competition “The Writer 2016”.
• Currently Nominated 2017 Campbell Award

“Writing has always been a part of me. The need to write down ideas that come to me all the time, just cannot be switched off. It’s a part of me.”- Ekari Mbvundula

Ekari has always loved reading , it was more than a passion , it was a part of her identity, it was part of who she was.

As author of short story eBook, “Montague’s Last” and many others such as “The Elephant in The Room”, Ekari is mainly a speculative fiction writer, which involves fantasy and science fiction.

However any genre which explores the impossible or the yet-to-be-possible has always fascinated her, hence never giving herself any restrictions, allowing herself to be open to exploring as many genres as possible.

Ekari writes fiction as she believes, fiction explores how individuals see themselves and the ideas that come across the minds of Malawians on a daily basis. Which is why she finds it very vital to write stories that actually consist of Malawians and Africans as the main character, making it easy for readers to connect with the writer and the characters.

Taking such a spectacular step, definitely comes with obstacles. Some of the challenges faced with writers in Malawi would have to be distribution. It is not easy as writers to get stories to Malawian readers and beyond.

Ekari has recently released an eBook “Montague’s Last”, on Amazon.com , and many Malawians have lent her their support, however Malawi currently is behind on modern technology development such as using MasterCard and visa credit/debit cards to make online transactions, making it difficult to purchase the eBook.

Even though there are smartphones and tablets available in the country, there are a lot of online services that are not available in Malawi. Hence showing not only challenges faced in the literature industry, but a far greater problem such as the modernising of our infrastructure as a whole.

There are also challenges when it comes to printing and distribution of hard copy books, as well as having agents, publishers, publicists, promoters and book designers to work with, in order to get the books into readers hands.

Ekari’s vision is to make Malawians to become readers, whether through reading electronic books, or hard copy, because without readers there can be no writers. She would like local bookstores to become the popular hotspots for people of all ages to hang out and exchange productive and effective ideas. She would also like for books to be more affordable.

Ekari believes in writing for Malawian readers first and the rest of the world second. She believes there are many ways, to develop and make Malawi better.

She earnestly believes that through developing a reading culture into Malawi and its people, it will help Malawians become more innovative and see themselves beyond what they believe they are, as well as be able to give them a special type of confidence to be daring enabling  them to take a step further  beyond just wishing and dreaming but, actually put ideas into tangible foundations.

Ekari is a Malawian writer that though facing many challenges, continues to do what she loves and what she believes is a part of her. And through her work she will stir Malawi up, and help change and develop Malawi, making Malawians greater readers and innovative individuals.

To see the works of Ekari,

Follow her on Facebook @EkariMbvundula and her bibliography page on her blog www.ekariwrites.com

You can also purchase her eBook short story  “Montague’s Last” on www.amazon.com

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