African Writers Trust was established in 2009 as "a non-profit entity which seeks to coordinate and bring together African writers in the Diaspora and writers on the continent to promote sharing of skills and other resources, and to foster knowledge and learning between the two groups."

The current Director is the African Writers Trust founder, Goretti Kyomuhendo

Goretti Kyomuhendo

Goretti Kyomuhendo, born Maria Goretti Kyomuhendo on August 1, 1965, is a novelist from Hoima, Western Uganda. A participant at the inaugural International Literature Festival Berlin in 2001, Kyomuhendo has been recognized for her “internationally renowned novels.” She has also earned notice in...

, an internationally recognized novelist with a distinguished career as the Program Coordinator for FEMRITE.

African Writers Trust is governed by its Advisory Board, currently (as of 2011) composed of Zakes Mda

Zakes Mda

Zakes Mda , legally Zanemvula Kizito Gatyeni Mda , is a South African novelist, poet and playwright. He has won major South African and British literary awards for his novels and plays.-Early life and education:...

, Susan Nalugwa Kiguli

Susan Nalugwa Kiguli

Susan Nalugwa Kiguli, born on June 24, 1969 in Luweero District, Uganda, is an internationally recognized Ugandan poet and literary scholar. Currently a senior lecturer at Makerere University, Kiguli has been an advocate for creative writing in Africa, including service as a founding member of...

, Ayeta Anne Wangusa

Ayeta Anne Wangusa

Ayeta Anne Wangusa, born in Kampala, Uganda, on 9 September 1971, is a writer and activist.A founding member of FEMRITE, the Uganda Women Writers Association, Wangusa first achieved broader recognition in literary circles for her novel...

, Helon Habila

Helon Habila

Helon Habila is a Nigerian novelist and poet. He won the Caine Prize for African fiction in 2001, and the Commonwealth Writers Prize in 2003....

, Mildred Barya

Mildred Barya

Mildred Kiconco Barya , born Owemigisha Patricia on 1 August 1976, is a writer and poet from Uganda. She was awarded the 2008 Pan African Literary Forum Prize for Africana Fiction, but had earlier gained recognition for her poetry, particularly her first two collections, , and .Barya has also...

, and Aminatta Forna

Aminatta Forna

Aminatta Forna is a British writer of Sierra Leonean and Scottish heritage. She is the author of a memoir, The Devil that Danced on the Water and two novels, Ancestor Stones and The Memory of Love...

.

Activities

Although presently headquartered in London, England, African Writers Trust has so far (as of 2011) conducted its activities primarily in East Africa based in part upon that region’s perceived needs and opportunities.

Diana Nabiruma, of The Observer (Uganda), reported on the fiction workshop and competition organized by the African Writers Trust and held at the Uganda Museum in February 2010. On the same, The Standard (Uganda Christian University’s community newspaper) reported on the success of the Uganda Christian University

Uganda Christian University

Uganda Christian University is a private church-founded university administered by the Church of Uganda .-Location:The main campus of the university, with approximately 6,500 students, is located in the town of Mukono, approximately , by road, east of Uganda's capital city, Kampala, on the...

 student writers who attended.

Martin Kanyegirire, also of The Observer (Uganda), reported on a follow-up one-day workshop held by Africa Writers Trust in January, 2011 that involved twenty student-writers from three East African universities.

Projections and Progress Assessment

According to the African Writers Trust web site, the organization’s projected activities and programs include establishing a Creative Writing School in Uganda, holding the African Writers Trust workshop and competition on an annual basis and in a different nation each year, establishing a Writer’s Fund to allow an established African Diaspora writer to spend a semester at an African university teaching students creative writing, and the like.

In regard largely to the same, Advisory Board member Mildred Barya has written a personal reflection published in Pambazuka News

Pambazuka News

Pambazuka News , published by Fahamu since 2000, is a pan-African electronic weekly newsletter and platform for social justice in Africa providing: contemporary commentary and in-depth analysis on politics and current affairs development, human rights, refugees, gender issues and culture in Africa...

 on the growing pains of African Writers Trust, the challenges of finding funding and support, and her assessment of what the organization can contribute.

In a May 22, 2011 interview with Caine Prize

Caine Prize

The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the best original short story by an African writer, whether in Africa or elsewhere, published in the English language. The £10,000 prize was founded in the United Kingdom in 2000, and was named in memory of the late Sir Michael...

 nominee Beatrice Lamwaka for AfroLit, current Director Goretti Kyomuhendo has offered her own assessment of progress-to-date and future expectations for African Writers Trust.