The Most Famous
WRITERS from Kenya
Top 4
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Kenyan Writers of all time. This list of famous Kenyan Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (1938 - 2025)
With an HPI of 65.77, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is the most famous Kenyan Writer. His biography has been translated into 67 different languages on wikipedia.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (Gikuyu: [ᵑɡoɣe wá ðiɔŋɔ]; born James Ngugi; 5 January 1938 – 28 May 2025) was a Kenyan author and academic, who has been described as East Africa's leading novelist and an important figure in modern African literature. Ngũgĩ wrote primarily in English before switching to writing primarily in Gikuyu and becoming a strong advocate for literature written in native African languages. His works include novels such as the celebrated novel The River Between, plays, short stories, memoirs, children's literature and essays ranging from literary to social criticism. He was the founder and editor of the Gikuyu-language journal Mũtĩiri. His 2016 short story "The Upright Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright" has been translated into more than 100 languages. In 1977, Ngũgĩ embarked upon a novel form of theatre in Kenya that sought to liberate the theatrical process from what he held to be "the general bourgeois education system", by encouraging spontaneity and audience participation in the performances. His project sought to "demystify" the theatrical process, and to avoid the "process of alienation [that] produces a gallery of active stars and an undifferentiated mass of grateful admirers" which, according to Ngũgĩ, encourages passivity in "ordinary people". Although his landmark play Ngaahika Ndeenda (1977), co-written with Ngũgĩ wa Mirii, was a commercial success, it was shut down by the then authoritarian Kenyan regime six weeks after its opening. Ngũgĩ was subsequently imprisoned for more than a year. Adopted as an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, he was released from prison and fled Kenya. He was appointed Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature and English at the University of California, Irvine. He had previously taught at University of Nairobi, Northwestern University, Yale University, and New York University. Ngũgĩ was frequently regarded as a likely candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He won the 2001 International Nonino Prize in Italy, and the 2016 Park Kyong-ni Prize. Among his children are authors Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ and Wanjikũ wa Ngũgĩ.
2. Philippa Gregory (b. 1954)
With an HPI of 57.18, Philippa Gregory is the 2nd most famous Kenyan Writer. Her biography has been translated into 26 different languages.
Philippa Gregory (born 9 January 1954) is an English historical novelist who has been publishing since 1987. The best known of her works is The Other Boleyn Girl (2001), which in 2002 won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists' Association and has been adapted into two films. AudioFile magazine has called Gregory "the queen of British historical fiction".
3. Grace Ogot (1930 - 2015)
With an HPI of 45.33, Grace Ogot is the 3rd most famous Kenyan Writer. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Grace Emily Ogot (née Akinyi; 15 May 1930 – 18 March 2015) was a Kenyan author, nurse, journalist, politician and diplomat. Together with Charity Waciuma she was the first Anglophone female Kenyan writer to be published. She was one of the first Kenyan members of parliament and she became an assistant minister.
4. Binyavanga Wainaina (1971 - 2019)
With an HPI of 40.96, Binyavanga Wainaina is the 4th most famous Kenyan Writer. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Kenneth Binyavanga Wainaina (18 January 1971 – 21 May 2019) was a Kenyan author, journalist and 2002 winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing. In 2003, he was the founding editor of Kwani? literary magazine. In April 2014, Time magazine included Wainaina in its annual Time 100 as one of the "Most Influential People in the World".
People
Pantheon has 4 people classified as Kenyan writers born between 1930 and 1971. Of these 4, 1 (25.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Kenyan writers include Philippa Gregory. The most famous deceased Kenyan writers include Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Grace Ogot, and Binyavanga Wainaina. As of April 2024, 4 new Kenyan writers have been added to Pantheon including Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Philippa Gregory, and Grace Ogot.
Living Kenyan Writers
Go to all RankingsDeceased Kenyan Writers
Go to all Rankings
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
1938 - 2025
HPI: 65.77
Grace Ogot
1930 - 2015
HPI: 45.33
Binyavanga Wainaina
1971 - 2019
HPI: 40.96
Newly Added Kenyan Writers (2024)
Go to all RankingsNgũgĩ wa Thiong'o
1938 - 2025
HPI: 65.77
Philippa Gregory
1954 - Present
HPI: 57.18
Grace Ogot
1930 - 2015
HPI: 45.33
Binyavanga Wainaina
1971 - 2019
HPI: 40.96
Overlapping Lives
Which Writers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 3 most globally memorable Writers since 1700.
