Beatrice Lamwaka

Beatrice Lamwaka
Born	Beatrice Lamwaka Gulu, Uganda
Occupation	Short story writer
Nationality	Ugandan
Alma mater	Makerere University
Genre	Short stories
Notable works	Butterfly dreams

Beatrice Lamwaka (born and raised in Alokolum, Gulu) is a Ugandan writer. She was shortlisted for the 2011 Caine Prize for her story "Butterfly Dreams". She is the founder and director of the Arts Therapy Foundation, a non-profit organisation that provides psychological and emotional support through creative arts therapies. She is the general secretary of PEN Uganda Chapter and an executive member of the Uganda Reproduction Rights Organisation (URRO). She has served on the executive board of the Uganda Women Writers Association (FEMRITE), where she has been a member since 1998.

She formerly wrote articles for the Global Press Institute about issues affecting women, including HIV/AIDS, the impact of war on women, and social justice. Her creative writing (short stories and her novel) also focus on these issues. In 2009, she was a writer in residence at Château de Lavingny, Switzerland. In November 2013, she was a resident working on her novel, Sunflowers at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center. She was a recipient of 2011 Young Achievers Award in the category of Art, Culture and Fashion. She received a grant from HF Guggenheim to research land disputes in post-conflict northern Uganda. She was shortlisted for the 2011 Caine Prize for African Writing and a finalist for the PEN/Studzinski Literary Award 2009.

Early life and education

Lamwaka was born and raised in Alokolum, Gulu, Uganda. She attended the Uganda Martyrs Secondary School, Namugongo, before joining Makerere University for a Bachelor of Arts with Education. She specialised in literature and English. She has pursued a masters degree in human rights from Makerere University.

Writing career

In her third year at Makerere University, she joined FEMRITE, an organisation aimed at developing and promoting women writers. By 2001, her first short story, "Vengeance of the Gods", was published in the anthology Words From A Granary. Later, she penned, "Queen of Tobacco", a fictional story of a lady who idolised tobacco smoking. This story was picked up by the British Council (BC) after she submitted it to Gowanus Books online in an ongoing project dubbed Crossing Borders. She was shortlisted for the 2011 Caine Prize for her story "Butterfly Dreams". Her short stories have been published in various anthologies including Caine Prize anthologies, To See the Mountain and other stories, and African Violet and Other Stories. Her works have appeared in other anthologies including: Butterfly Dreams and Other Stories from Uganda, New Writing from Africa 2009, Words from A Granary, World of Our Own, Farming Ashes, Summoning the Rains, Queer Africa: New and Collected Fiction, PMS poemmemoirstory journal, among others. She is working on her first novel, Sunflowers, and a number of short stories.

Published works

Short stories

• "Chief of the Home", in
• "Butterfly Dreams", in
• "Bonding Ceremony", in
• "Butterfly Dreams", in
• "Bottled Memory", in
• Pillar of Love, in
• "Butterfly Dreams", in
• "The Garden of Mushrooms", in
• "Village Queen", in
• "The Family of Three"; "The Bully"; and "The Garden of Mushrooms", in
• "The Star in My Camp", in
• "I Always Know", in
• "Vengeance of Gods", in
• "Butterfly Dreams"
• "Queen of Tobacco", Gowanus Books, 2002

Poems

• "Mwoc Acoli", "Nyeri", in
• "The Stars in Gulu", in

Awards and recorgnition

• Young Achievers Award 2011 (Art, Culture and Fashion category.
• Laureate for the Council for the Development of Social Science Democratic Governance Institute 2012
• Shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing 2011.
• Finalist for the PEN/Studzinski Literary Award 2009.
• Fellow for the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation 2009

External links

• "Taking literature back home"

• Ugandan writer shortlisted for Caine Prize
• caineprize Previously shortlisted writers. caineprize.com. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
• "Butterfly Dreams by Beatrice Lamwaka", Arts Therapy Foundation. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
• Uganda Reproduction Rights Organisation, IFRRO. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
• Beatrice Lamwaka, transculturalwriting.com. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
• Writers' Residence, Château de Lavigny. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
• Beatrice Lamwaka, diversity.org.mk. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
• Short Story Day Africa. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
• "Writivism Mentorship Programme", Caceafrica, 23 January 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
• Beatrice Lamwaka – 2011 Caine Prize Nominee. Tuesday, August 2, 2011, femriteuganda.blogspot.com. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
• Racheal Ninsiima, "Babe of the week: Lamwaka, the princess who loves words", The Observer (Uganda). Retrieved 26 January 2014.
• "Beatrice Lamwaka", Global Press Journal. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
• "Babe of the week: Lamwaka, the princess who loves words". October 10, 2013, The Oobserver (Uganda). Retrieved 26 January 2014.
• caineprize Previously shortlisted writers. caineprize.com. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
• Mildred Barya, "Beatrice Lamwaka on the 2011 Caine Prize Shortlist", 23 May 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
• "The Butterfly Effect: An interview with Caine Prize-nominee Beatrice Lamwaka", Start Journal, 1 November 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
• Beatrice Lamwaka diversity.org.mk. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
• caineprize Previously shortlisted writers, caineprize.com. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
• "2009 PEN/Studzinski Literary Award Finalists Announced", BooksLive, 5 February 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
• Beatrice Lamwaka, Global Press Journal. Retrieved 26 January 2014.