Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye

Homing In – this novel won second place for Kenya's Jomo Kenyatta Literature Prize Competition in 1995. Homing In is a novel about Ellen Smith. She is widowed European settler who lives with Martha Kimani, her African American caretaker. The novel references events like the soldier-settler scheme, the impact of World War 2 on Africa, the German bombing on London, Mau, the controversy over female circumcision, and Kikuyu independent schools. At the beginning of the novel there was a strong racial divide between the two women. However, towards the end of the novel the two women from different backgrounds realize they are vulnerable and need each other to survive. They form a friendship and give mutual support.

Macgoye moved to Kenya due to a job application to the Church Missionary Society (CMS) which led to a job offer of running a CMS bookshop in Nairobi. In 1954, she arrived in Kenya; during that period Kenya was going through colonial conflict and was in a tense state. She often participated in literacy projects for Africans. She would often give out Christian literature to female prisoners at Remand Prison in Nairobi. There she met Daniel Oludhe Macgoye, who is a medical officer who worked there. The couple married in 1960 and soon moved to Alupe Leprosy Mission hospital, near the border separating Kenya and Uganda. Between 1961 and 1966 they had four children together – Phyllis, George, Francis and Lawrence. In the latter half of the 1960s, she taught in Kisumu. She began to engage in the Luo community due to her husband’s family and she began to learn the language, history, traditions and culture of the Luo community, The Luo community even titled her the "mother of Gem". She became a naturalized Kenyan citizen in 1954. In 1971, she and her children moved from Kenya for a job running the university library in Tanzania, while her husband stayed behind. She became the manager of the SJ Moore Bookshop in 1975. She ran literary readings and workshops for many Kenyan and east African writers. From 1983, she switched her focus to writing. During this period of time, she remained committed to social activism through many ways, such as participating in national debates.

Marjorie Phyllis Oludhe Macgoye (21 October 1928 – 1 December 2015), was born in Southampton, England, but immigrated to Kenya soon after Kenya became independent. She was a poet, novelist, and a missionary bookseller. She studied at the University of London for both her bachelor and master’s degree. She moved to Kenya in 1954 to sell books and became a citizen in 1964. After immigrating to Kenya, she began pursuing a career of being an author. At first, she published stories in magazines. As her success grew, she started writing works of longer length. In early 1970, her novels and poetry were being published. She has won awards for many of her works such as Growing Up at Lina School, Murder in Majengo, but her most notable novel is Coming to Birth. Her award-winning novels portrays the life of a Kenyan woman during the time period 1956–1978. While in Kenya, Marjorie met Macgoye, her husband, who is a medical doctor. The two were married in 1960.

Marjorie was born on 21 October 1928 in Southampton, England, to Phyllis (née Woolcott) and Richard King. Her father started working as an apprentice at the Vosper Thornycroft shipyard and her mother was a teacher. She was an only child. Marjorie finished her secondary education in 1945 and studied English at the Royal Holloway College, University of London. She worked at Foyles bookshop in London after graduating from college. she received a masters in English from Birkbeck College, University of London 8 years later.