College Alumna launches book at Bracknell Literary Festival

Arts and Humanities College alumna and creative Judith Makaniankhondo Nyirenda held a storytelling event as part of the town’s first ever Literary Festival on the 29th October.

Launched on the 26th October, the Bracknell Forest Council organised a series of talks, workshops, poetry sessions and dance all in celebration of the town’s cultural and literary history. With the event ongoing, the festival venues are situated within the town and the wider area, and local independent authors, libraries, dance schools, and creative groups and individuals take centre stage to share their offering, running until the 2nd November.

Judith brought her book ‘Happy Birthday Vana!’  to life with a vibrant storytelling session at the Ascot Heath Library. Complete with a self-made doll collection that depicts Judith’s facial birthmark, her mission was to share the importance of celebrating our own uniqueness. Dedicated to Judith’s daughter and published just in time for World Book Day 2019, Happy Birthday Vana is a book that celebrates diversity and self-acceptance. It is also a bilingual book that features both English text in addition to her mother-tongue language of native Chichewa.

Reflecting on her time as a student at Newbold, Judith has expressed that studying Arts and Humanities gave her the confidence to be who she wanted to be as a creative : “As a Malawian and mature student coming to England, you need lecturers who appreciate your dynamic. Whilst studying at the College, I found that the lecturers really understood me. They accept who you are, encourage your individuality and give you the freedom to delve into and celebrate your unique creativity.”

Click here to find out more about Judith’s creative work.

For more information on our (BA) Humanities course, please click here.