Discover compelling new prose and poetry from Zambia with our list of ten noteworthy Zambian authors.
Often spearheading African literature, Zambian authors have provided the stunning continent with fresh new voices tackling themes such as the clash between tradition and modernity, identity, and community.
Zambia, in the south of Africa, is a landlocked country that takes its name from the Zambezi River. The country was known as Northern Rhodesia under British colonial rule. The interplay between independence, politics, tradition, economic transformations, and the recent decades have all left a deep mark on the Zambian people.
“I was born and raised in Zambia in 1969. At the time of my birth, blacks were not issued birth certificates, and that law only changed in 1973.”
Dambisa Moyo, international economist and author
Nevertheless, the country’s rich history imbues it with a vigor that resounds through the works of its writers. Powerful voices in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry showcase immense talent in expressing the very human need to be in touch with one’s roots but also free.
Read our list below to uncover talented writers from a remarkable country. If you want more amazing books to add to your TBR, see our list of the best Ethiopian authors.
Contents
Best Zambian Authors Ranked
1. Ellen Banda-Aaku, 1965 –
Zambian author Ellen Banda-Aaku published seven books for children and two novels while also working on radio productions and documentaries. Her first book for children, Wandi’s Little Voice, won the 2004 Macmillan’s Writers Prize for Africa. Another short story, Sozi’s Box, was the overall winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Competition in 2007, among other prizes and nominations.
Ellen Banda-Aaku’s most recent book, The Elephant Girl, written with James Patterson, is perhaps the most representative of her work. Sensitive and touching but also heavy with meaning, the book follows the friendship between a girl and an elephant she names Mbegu.
Most of Ellen’s stories are meant for children, but they would entertain any adult who reads them. She is a mandatory author for any reader keen on exploring Zambian literature.
“In stories, I look for originality. I am also big on characters. A story that has me thinking about a character or characters long after I have turned the last page works for me.”
Ellen Banda-Aaku
2. Wilbur Smith, 1933 – 2021
Born in Zambia to British parents, Wilbur Smith suffered from cerebral malaria as an infant and nearly died. He survived to play as a young boy on his father’s ranch and was taught a love of books by his mother. After college, he wanted to become a journalist but ended up working as an accountant.
Smith’s first novel, When the Lion Feeds, is about a man growing up on an African cattle ranch, experiencing life with all its strange intricacies. His other stories feature similar adventurers, rugged protagonists living on the edge. The first novel started a successful 23-book series called The Courtney Family.
Overall, Smith authored around 40 books, most of them set in his beloved Africa. A natural storyteller, this former accountant was always an adventurer at heart, and he shares his passion for it in every book.
“You have to be at least slightly crazy to write fiction for a living.”
Wilbur Smith, On Leopard Rock: A Life of Adventures
3. Namwali Serpell, 1980 –
Another Zambian author worthy of note is Namwali Serpell, whose novels have received more prizes than can be counted. She is, to note just a few, a recipient of the Windham–Campbell Prize in Fiction, the Anisfield–Wolf Book Award in Fiction, the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science Fiction and the L.A. Times’ Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction.
Known internationally for her debut novel The Old Drift, which is set in Zambia and follows three families throughout time, Serpell’s writing is strong and evocative, and her characters are unforgettable. Publishers Weekly noted that her style recalls “the work of Toni Morrison and Gabriel García Márquez” through her blend of magic and reality.
A tenured professor of English at Harvard, Namwali Serpell is an author of Promise and should not be skipped. Her more recent book The Furrows was on The New York Times’ 10 Best Books list and 100 Notable Books of 2022, not to mention one of former president Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2022.
“Every family is a war but some are more civil than others.”
Namwali Serpell, The Old Drift
4. Dambisa Moyo, 1969 –
Born in Zambia and educated at the best Western schools, namely Harvard and Oxford, Dambisa Moyo, an economist by trade, has published in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, and many more. She is also the author of four New York Times bestsellers.
An author of non-fiction, Moyo’s articles and books deal with economy and geopolitics. Her most widely-known book, Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa, argues that Africa has developed a dependency on aid that is deeply concerning. Thought-provoking and engaging, the book is the product of an energetic voice whose other books you should definitely read.
“I wish we questioned the aid model as much as we are questioning the capitalism model. Sometimes the most generous thing you can do is just say no.”
Dambisa Moyo
5. Binwell Sinyangwe, 1956 –
Binwell Sinyangwe is a Zambian novelist most known for his 2000 book A Cowrie of Hope. The story of the book, like that of several other novels from notable Zambian writers, deals with the clash between family bonds and society. It follows a mother by the name of Nasula striving to attain independence from men and give her daughter an education in 1990s Zambia.
Binwell Sinyangwe’s depiction of family and rural life in Zambia, which the reader experiences through Nasula, reveals the history of an impoverished nation. Beautifully written, Sinyangwe’s A Cowrie of Hope captivates so much that it earns him a spot on our list.
“Misfortune had not caged the woman’s soul. Poverty, suffering and never having stepped into a classroom had not smoked her spirit and vision out of existence. Her humanity continued to be that which she had been born with, one replete with affection and determination.”
Binwell Sinyangwe, A Cowry of Hope
6. Mukuka Chipanta
Hailing from the Copperbelt Province of Zambia, Mukuka Chipanta studied engineering in the UK. Currently a resident of Washington, D.C., he received several awards and mentions.
Mukuka’s life informs his writing. His debut novel, A Casualty of Power, examines the relationship between indigenous African workers and the Chinese migrants brought to work in the copper mines of Zambia. Raw and gripping, the action in the book tells the story of modern-day Africa. Current and eye-opening, Mukuka Chipanta’s writing must be on any list of notable Zambian authors.
“Designing airplanes is much like crafting a compelling story. Both pursuits require one to patiently stitch together seemingly disparate parts into a single harmonic unit in which passengers or readers can be ferried to someplace else while enjoying the ride.”
Mukuka Chipata
7. Efemia Chela, 1991 –
Young writer Efemia Chela was born in Zambia but lived in England, Ghana, Botswana, and South Africa, getting her BA in French, Politics, and Classical Civilisations from Rhodes University.
Her first published story, Chicken, was nominated for the 2014 Caine Prize For African Writing. The story is about a woman who cuts ties to her family and moves to the city on her own.
Chela followed up her initial success with multiple short stories published in literary magazines and anthologies, such as Migrations: New Short Fiction from Africa, a collection of short stories she edited along with others. In 2018, she was the Andrew W. Mellon Writer-in-Residence at Rhodes University.
Personal and real, not afraid to touch upon the sexual, Efemia’s stories are relatable in a painful way. Inspired by the world around her from a young age, she narrativizes people to an intimate level and brings them to the reader. Her poems are equally noteworthy, signaling a new wave of African authors.
“Reading allows me to be part of a community, even though I am almost always physically alone.”
Efemia Chela
8. Malama Katulwende, 1967 –
Malama Katulwende was born in the Luapula province of Zambia. After receiving a Catholic education to become a priest, he instead decided to go on to study science and mathematics at the University of Zambia.
A published poet, he also wrote the 2005 novel Bitterness, for which he was given the Julius Chongo Award in 2006 for Best Creative Writing. The novel, based on real events, revolves around the life of young people in present-day Africa, caught between tradition and modern life.
Katulwende’s writing merges African history, the student riots at the University of Zambia in particular, with a personal account of the events as seen through the eyes of a participant, a student. Realistic and passionate, the novel, like other literary works by Malama Katulwende, paints a clear picture of Africa’s difficult journey through the recent decades.
“His heart was with his fathers, begging them to see (as though they did not!), the smell of poverty that was already more than enough to fill the air and everything with the poison of death.”
Malama Katulwende, Bitterness
9. Kayo Chingonyi, 1987 –
Poet Kayo Chingonyi was born in Zambia to the Luvale tribe but moved to the UK when he was six. Awarded the Geoffrey Dearmer Prize by The Poetry Society in 2012, he became an Associate Poet at the Institute of Contemporary Arts three years later. His first full-length collection, Kumukanda, received resounding praise.
Kayo was a Burgess Fellow at the Centre for New Writing, University of Manchester, before joining Durham University as an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing. He is also the poetry editor at Bloomsbury and became a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022.
Many of Chingonyi’s literary works deal with the issue of tradition and identity. Leaving Zambia at an early age, he felt disconnected from Zambian traditions, a longing that can be discerned in his lyrical, nostalgic writing.
“The most formalist poetry I have been exposed to is rap lyrics.”
Kayo Chingonyi
10. Mali Kambandu
Mali Kambandu, who lives in Lusaka, Zambia, received a B.Sc. in Health Sciences and Communication from Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. After that, she continued to work in media and communications while also writing fiction and non-fiction.
Mali has also authored radio, television, and print materials for NGOs and government agencies on topics such as smallholder farming schemes, sexual reproductive health in children, poverty reduction, and many more.
In 2018, Mali won the Kalemba Short Story Prize for her story A Hand to Hold and was shortlisted for the Writivism Short Story Award for her story The Photograph. The first story follows a middle-class family struggling with new revelations. It approaches the themes of class and love in contemporary Zambia. A young voice revealing Zambia’s new social realities, Mali is worth following – and reading.
“A part of her soul tingled when children ran to or cried for her over their mothers. Their warm bodies blanketed the loneliness she feared would consume her.”
Mali Kambandu, A Hand to Hold
