Just over one year since Tanzanian-born British author Abdulrazak Gurnah won the Nobel Prize in Literature, his book Paradise has been translated into his first language - Swahili.
It marks the first translation of any of Gurnah's works into an African language.
Dr Ida Hadjivayanis, Swahili lecturer at London's SOAS university, spent more than a year translating the novel, and says that she hopes the book will bring Gurnah's work to East African audiences.
"I remember when Abdulrazak was announced as the Nobel Laureate, many people in Zanzibar, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda - areas around which he writes, had not heard of him. I must say, I was slightly surprised at the extent to which he wasn’t read.
"English was cited as the main reason for this discrepancy, which means that KiSwahili has the potential to reach these new readers."
Gurnah was born and raised in Zanzibar, but left home aged about 18 for the UK, following the 1964 revolution which saw the overthrow of the ruling Arab class in the islands.
However, his work retains a close connection to home, with all his novels set in East Africa.
Paradise, Gurnah's fourth novel, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1994. Set in colonial East Africa, the book centres on the coming of age of Yusuf, a 12-year-old boy who is pawned to his father's creditor so he can pay off his debts.
The Swahili version Peponi has been published by Tanzanian publishers, Mkuki na Nyota, and from next month it will be available in book shops across East Africa and made available worldwide through African Books Collective.
Dr Hadjivayanis has since started work on translating Gurnah's most recent book, Afterlives, and hopes to have it ready by 2023.
