Okang'a Ooko is a fine artist and writer who epitomizes a new shift in African fiction. His books are mostly set in Kenya and are often characterized by several recurring themes that explore the complexities of modern African society, culture, and identity. Some of the key themes in his writing, and ones that matter to him, include history and memory, pop culture (especially music), love and danger, violence, politics, human greed, power and control, business (especially design, marketing and advertising), art, technology and media, consumerism and capitalism (the emptiness of materialism and the alienation it creates), corruption, religion, crime and punishment, and self-development. At his best, his works are mostly character-driven nostalgic tales that evoke a sense of longing for the past while grappling with the uncertainties of the present and future, wrapped in emotional reflection. Isolation and alienation, whereby his characters frequently feel disconnected from others and society, are common themes he deals with, as well as death and mortality. At times, his characters are misfits with existential fears that often drive them to the fringes of society. In his new novel, Kisumo, for instance, the weight of history, from the 1969 Kisumu massacre to the post-Independence era corruption and oppression, deeply influences characters and events, robbing them of their identity, turning them into misfits and; hence; rebels.

BACKGROUND

Ooko was raised in Kisumu, in Kenya. He has been writing since childhood when his mother took him to the local library in his hometown of Kisumu, in Kisumu County, Kenya, to keep him out of the company of bad boys. As a serial daydreamer, it was worthwhile to finally get the stories on paper when he started writing full-time in retirement in 2017. He has not looked back since. He believes current African issues (pop culture, politics, business, corruption) make dramatic stories with or without a literary bent, and he knows there is a huge potential to create intriguing stories around these themes. In addition to being a prolific writer, he is a painter—working with oil and pastels—, an acclaimed graphic designer and musician. He lives the life of an artist and he has a broad view of what constitutes an artist or creative writer. For art is his sphere of influence. And art is above ordinary mortality as artistic works outlive lives of artists and people.

He graduated from the Technical University Kenya (then Kenya Polytechnic) where he studied creative writing, graphic design and communication. He later studied product design at the Housing and Building Research Institut at Wageningen University, Holland, and worked for a decade as a product development designer in the SME sector. Prior to becoming a novelist, Ooko was the award-winning artist and designer in Nairobi's creative industry—in print, advertising, marketing and publishing.

Today he writes full time and works in private as a graphic designer for print and digital publishing, art director, manager of content developers, video creator, UI designer and web developer. He lives in Nairobi with his wife and four children, and divides his time between Nairobi and his home in Mbita, Rusinga Island, Homa Bay County. When he isn’t reading or writing engaging stories, he’s probably having spirited and bawdy convos about music with windblown bengamen in Migori and Homa Bay, and moonlighting in their shows. He also loves watching edgy black comedy on Netflix. In his spare time, he collects African art, plays the guitar and draws things.