Nahida Esmail

Nahida Esmail
BornDar es Salaam, Tanzania
Pen nameUmm Hafsah
OccupationAuthor
Poet
Columnist
LanguageEnglish
Swahili
EducationMasters in Child Development with Early Childhood Education, Institute of Education, University of London U.K
BSc in Psychology Goldsmiths College, University of London U.K
Notable awardsCODE's Burt Award for African Young Adult Literature
ChildrenHafsah Seedat Khaled, Humeira Seedat Khaled

Nahida Esmail is a Tanzanian author[1] and poet.[2][3] She is a lifetime sponsor of 'The Teen Writers Awards'.[4][5]

Early life and education

Nahida Esmail was born and raised in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.[6] She was educated at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and graduated with a BSc in Psychology and completed a Masters degree in Child Development with Early Childhood Education at the Institute of Education, University of London.[7] Later on She got married and gave birth to her 2 daughters Hafsah and Humeira Khaled.

Career

Esmail has published four young adult fiction novels[8] and ten children's books of which some have been translated into Swahili and Maa.[9]

Writing

Published books

2011

  • Esmail, Nahida (29 December 2017). Living in the Shade: Aiming for the Summit. African Books Collective. ISBN 978-9987-08-348-0.
  • Esmail, Nahida (2011). Lessilie: The City Maasai. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-9976-4-0428-9.

2014

  • Nahida, Esmai (16 April 2018). The Detectives of Shangani. Mkuki na Nyota Publishers. ISBN 978-9987-08-292-6.

2017

2019

2021

  • Esmail, Nahida (2021). Bahiya, the Little Zebra: A Picture Book from Tanzania and Egypt. African Bureau Stories. ISBN 978-9988-2-2702-9.

2024

  • Esmail, Nahida (2024). The pink bodaboda. MBIU Press. OCLC 1463940813.

Poetry

  • The Atlas Lions

Awards and honours

In 2015 Esmail was honoured with the Tanzania Women's Achievement Award for the education category.[10]

Her four young adult novels, Living in the Shade,[11] Lesslie the City Maasai,[12] Detectives of Shangani,[13]  and Living in the Shade: Aiming for the Summit[14] have all received CODE's Burt Award for African literature.

References

  1. ^ "Nahida Esmail on writing books". The Citizen. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  2. ^ africaindialogue (11 December 2020). "Connecting the Seemingly Unconnected: A Dialogue with Nahida Esmail". Africa in Dialogue. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  3. ^ "African Teen Writers Awards Receives Lifetime Sponsorship From Award-winning Tanzanian Writer Nahida Esmail". Writers Space Africa. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Tanzanian Author Nahida Esmail Becomes a Lifetime Sponsor of The African Teen Awards". brittlepaper.com. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  5. ^ Ogah, Steve (15 June 2022). "African Teen Writers Awards Receives Lifetime Sponsorship from Award-winning Tanzanian Writer Nahida Esmail". www.thedailyscrum.ca. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  6. ^ Mngodo, Esther Karin. "50 Tanzanian Writers celebrate Abdulrazak Gurnah for Winning the Nobel Prize in Literature". Udadisi. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  7. ^ "African Writers Awards 2022 longlists announced". Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Social Values In Young Adults Novels: A Study Of Selected Works By Nahida Esmail". Afribary. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  9. ^ Bassaw, Julia-Faith (30 September 2022). ""Create A Better Reading Culture In Africa" – Nahida Esmail". Muna Kalati. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  10. ^ Visions, Pan African (5 November 2014). "Tanzania Women of Achievement Awards (Twaa) 2015 Launched". PAN AFRICAN VISIONS. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Living in the Shade". CODE's Burt Literary Awards. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Lessilie – the City Maasai". CODE's Burt Literary Awards. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  13. ^ "The Detectives of Shangani: The Mystery of Lost Rubies". CODE's Burt Literary Awards. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  14. ^ "Aiming for the Summit". CODE's Burt Literary Awards. 29 September 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2022.