Hisia

“Hisia” is the Swahili word for feelings, emotions, sensations — the heartbeat of every great love story. And that is exactly what the books under this imprint promise.

We are drawn to what we describe as domestic fiction. We publish realistic narratives about everyday Kenyans living and loving, navigating their relationships and looking for their dreams where they will find them.

Romance is the most widely read genre in the world, yet there are surprisingly few literary Kenyan love stories in circulation. We want to help change that, so falling in love and staying in love is an essential ingredient of the stories we want to bring into the world.

Hisia books celebrate longing, intimacy, sensuality, heartbreak, healing, and joy, from a distinctly Kenyan point of view. They are grounded in place and alive with emotional depth. They tell us something provoking or inspiring about love itself, weaving in themes of identity, family, friendship, ambition, fear... And they are artful in their prose: love, but make it literary.