Rwanda’s publishing industry is growing, with more local publishers producing textbooks, children’s books, and novels. Statistics say the sector is expected to expand by 4.56% between 2025 and 2029, reaching a market value of $2.02 million. Despite this progress, the industry still faces significant challenges. A report from the World Bank shows that reading culture in Rwanda remains limited, with many publishers relying on government contracts for school textbooks to stay afloat. Book distribution is another hurdle. While things have improved, critical infrastructure is still underdeveloped, and bookstores are hard to find. These issues must be tackled so that more Rwandan stories can be written, published, and read within and outside the country. And thankfully, Louise Umutoni is contributing to fixing this.
Louise Umutoni’s love for stories began with a storybook. At seven, she swiped The Pelican Brief from her brother’s collection, although she barely understood it. What stuck with her as she glanced through several other books was that none of the books around her talked about African roots. The characters were foreign, and their lives seemed different from hers. It wasn’t until she stumbled upon The Concubine by Elechi Amadi at twelve that she finally saw herself in a story. And that moment changed everything.
Fast forward to today, and Umutoni isn’t just a reader; she is a force contributing to Rwanda’s literary future. As the founder of Huza Press, she is giving Rwandan writers a platform to promote their work.
Umutoni’s move from journalism to publishing
Before Louise Umutoni became a publisher, she was a journalist. She had a natural flair for storytelling and a sharp eye for culture, which won her the Best Arts and Culture Journalist award at the Rwanda Golden Pen Awards in 2006. She later transitioned into governance consultancy, serving as an adviser for the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).
Yet, something felt incomplete. Despite her media, policy, and communications work, she couldn’t quench the hunger to tell homegrown stories. Rwanda’s literary industry was sparse. Books were hard to find, and most available titles focused on the genocide. While that history was vital, Umutoni believed Rwanda had more stories to tell.
Thus, in 2015, she launched Huza Press, an independent publishing house committed to fiction, poetry, and nonfiction by African writers. “Huza” means “bringing together,” describing the press’s mission to unite readers and writers through shared narratives.
Aside from publishing, Huza Press is building a reading and writing culture in Rwanda. Umutoni has launched writing workshops, book clubs, and mentorship programs to help Rwandan writers develop their work.
One of their biggest initiatives was the Huza Press Prize for Fiction, Rwanda’s first-ever national fiction prize. Shortlisted writers got to work with established African literary giants like Taiye Selasi and Jennifer Makumbi. In 2018, they launched RadioBook Rwanda, an experimental multimedia project that combines text, pictures, and sound. The following year, it published The Cape Cod Bicycle War and Other Stories by Billy Kahora alongside other successful publications.
