Otoniya J. Okot Bitek’s novel, We, The Kindling has been longlisted for the 2025 Giller Prize.

Otoniya writes poetry and fiction. Her first collection, 100 Days, won the 2017 IndieFab Book of the Year Award for poetry and the 2017 Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry. Her second collection, A is for Acholi, won the 2023 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. Her most recent collection of poetry, Song & Dread, is published by Talonbooks. Otoniya was born in Kenya to Ugandan parents and has lived in Canada for more than three decades. Her short story “Going Home” received a special mention in the 2004 Commonwealth Short Fiction Prize. We, the Kindling is her first novel.

Why is it important for Canadians to read books by Canadian authors?

Reading is important and it is a privilege to have time to read. Canadian writers, like writers from elsewhere, address issues that are important to us. I read as part of my job, but also to be exposed to the imagination of writers that invite us to think expansively. Thankfully, Canadian writers come from so many different backgrounds and have so many entry points to read from, and I’m grateful for that.

What’s the last great book you read by a Canadian author?

In the last year, I’ve been moved by Omar El Akkad’s Some Day Everyone Will Always Have Been Against This, and Her First Palestinian by Saeed Teebi. I’m currently reading Madeleine Thien’s The Book of Records. All great books that get us thinking about this moment, about who we are, and how we orientate ourselves.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I didn’t want to be a writer. I just sucked a lot more doing anything else.

Who’s your favourite character in your longlisted book and why?

I don’t have a favorite character, but I think a lot about The Rooster Woman.

How many drafts did you go through when writing your book?

Several. I didn’t count. Some versions of the book remain close to the original but things moved around and some sections were thoroughly rewritten. I worked on this book over many years, and I mostly wrote over the same pages instead of saving a new draft so I can’t say how many drafts there were.

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