Book Bunk Trust
Book Bunk Trust is a charitable trust based in Nairobi, Kenya. It was founded in 2017 by publisher Angela Wachuka and writer Wanjiru Koinange.[1]
The trust was inspired by a core belief that public spaces are essential to a collective Kenyan imagination, and can be steered to become more than just repositories, acting as sites of knowledge production, shared experiences, cultural, information exchange.[2]
The Trust focuses on the transformation of library spaces into sites of heritage, public art, popular memory, and serve as critical spaces in Nairobi and Kenya’s creative economy ecology.[3]
They are behind the restoration of the McMillan Memorial Library in Nairobi an its branches in Kaloleni and Makadara.
History
In October 2017, Book Bunk Trust was founded by Wanjiru Koinange and Angela Wachuka. [4]
In March 2018, the Trust signed a renewable partnership agreement with the Nairobi City County government to drive restoration efforts and resource mobilization for McMillan Memorial Library and its branches in Kaloleni and Makadara. As part of this agreement, the trust is responsible for sourcing and management of fiscal and other support; steering and management of architecture, and management of these spaces, including design and delivery of programming. [5][6]
In 2019 Book Bunk Trust the United Arab Emirates’ Sharjah UNESCO World Book Capital financially invested in it. Book Bunk was granted US $50,000 to support the restoration of the Kaloleni branch. Dubai Cares provided US$ 10,000 worth of books to stock the library.[7]
The British Council offered a seed grant and skills training to support the preservation, restoration, and promotion of the McMillan Library. [8]
Book Bunk Trust established Bunk Books Limited (BBL), an affiliate of Book Bunk Trust, to serve as the commercial arm of the trust. Under BBL, there's Bunk Books a Nairobi-based publishing imprint.
Bunk Books
Bunk Books is a Nairobi-based publishing imprint that is committed to the production of stories by contemporary African writers and illustrators, animators, and other content producers both as digital and print editions combining new art and writing, for children and young adults.[1]
The Havoc of Choice by Wanjiru Koinange is the first novel to be published and distributed under this imprint.[1]
References
- Guest, Africa in Words (2020-04-14). "Q&A with Angela Wachuka – Literary producer and co-founder of Book Bunk". Retrieved 2020-07-26.
- "The McMillan Memorial Library by Tristan McConnell - The Fabulist - Aesop | Aesop Suisse". www.aesop.com (in French). Retrieved 2020-07-29.
- "Kenyan women lead bold revival of libraries' faded glory". The East African. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
- "Meet the Women of Book Bunk". Ikigai. 2019-03-08. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
- "PICS: Kenyan women lead bold revival of libraries' faded glory". News24. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
- "Nairobi City County Government entered into a partnership agreement with Book Bunk Trust which is a charitable trust established to advance library services, ed - video dailymotion". Dailymotion. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
- "Sharjah World Book Capital Program Backs Kenyan Library Restoration". Publishing Perspectives. 2019-12-17. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
- "#CultureGrows | British Council". www.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 2020-07-26.