Barbara Kimenye

Barbara Kimenye
BornBarbara Clarke Holdsworth
(1929-12-19)19 December 1929
Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died12 August 2012(2012-08-12) (aged 82)
London, England
OccupationWriter
GenreChildren's books
Notable worksMoses series

Barbara Kimenye (19 December 1929 – 12 August 2012) was a British-born writer who became one of the most popular and best-selling children's authors in East Africa, where she lived from the 1950s.[1] Her books sold more than a million copies, not just in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, but throughout English-speaking Africa. She wrote more than 50 titles and is best remembered for her Moses series,[2] about a mischievous student at a boarding school for troublesome boys.[3]

A prolific writer widely regarded as "the leading writer of children's literature in Uganda", Kimenye was among the first Anglophone Ugandan women writers to be published in Central and East Africa. Her stories were extensively read in Uganda and beyond and were widely used in African schools. Although born in England, Kimenye considered herself Ugandan.[4]

  1. ^ James Murua, "Barbara Kimenye’s passing is just sad" Archived 12 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine, jamesmurua.com, 19 September 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  2. ^ Beatrice Lamwaka, "Kimenye’s ‘Moses’ still impacts", Daily Monitor, 29 September 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  3. ^ Jonathan Hunt, "Barbara Kimenye obituary. One of East Africa's most popular children's authors", The Guardian, 18 September 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  4. ^ Elizabeth Fiona Oldfield, "Barbara Kimenye", The Literary Encyclopedia, 8 October 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2014.