Nationality Tanzania Name Elieshi Lema | Role Writer | |
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Genre poetry, novel, children's literature Books Parched earth, Upendo's Dream | ||
"The Future of Youth Literature" at the 16th Time of the Writer 2013
Elieshi Lema (born 1949) is a Tanzanian writer.
She was born in the village of Nronga and grew up there. She studied library science and worked at the national library. She continued her education by studying English literature at the University of Dar es Salaam and creative writing at San Francisco State University.
Lema began writing poetry and then children's books (in Swahili) before writing her first novel Parched Earth in English in 2001. This novel has been translated into Swedish and French and received honourable mention for the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa. A book for young adults In the Belly of Dar es Salaam was on the short list for the Burt Award for African Literature. Lema is co-owner of a publishing house which also operates a book café.
She was a founding director for the Tanzania Cultural Trust Fund. Lema has served on the board for the African Publishers Network, HakiElimu, the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme and the Tanzania Media Fund and on the executive for the Publishers Association of Tanzania.