The First Woman: Winner of the Jhalak Prize, 2021

‘Jennifer Makumbi is a genius storyteller.’ Reni Eddo-Lodge

An intoxicating mix of Ugandan folklore and modern feminism, from a multi-award-winning author

As Kirabo enters her teens, questions begin to gnaw at her – questions which the adults in her life will do anything to ignore. Where is the mother she has never known? And why would she choose to leave her daughter behind? Inquisitive, headstrong, and unwilling to take no for an answer, Kirabo sets out to find the truth for herself. 

Her search will take her away from the safety of her prosperous Ugandan family, plunging her into a very different world of magic, tradition, and the haunting legend of ‘The First Woman’.

‘In Jennifer Makumbi, we have a giant of literature living among us.’ Peter Kalu, Jhalak Prize Judge

A SUNDAY TIMES, OBSERVER, DAILY MAIL, BBC CULTURE & IRISH INDEPENDENT BOOK OF THE YEAR