M.A. Kelly

I am Marisa Kelly (writing as M.A. Kelly), born in Manchester, England, although I have lived permanently in Namibia for most of my adult life. I am a professional English-language editor of technical/scientific materials and I also contributed opinion pieces on social, economic and cultural issues for The Namibian newspaper between 2017 and 2020. My short-form fiction has appeared online in the following publications: The Kalahari Review, Ibua Journal and Writers Space Africa. I was a prize-winner in the Phoenix Short Fiction for Children Competition (Cardiff University and University of Namibia) in 2020 and in 2023 I was a prize-winner in the National Arts Council of Namibia creative writing competition. In 2020, I won the Goethe-Institut Namibia prize for fiction about the pandemic and my contribution appeared in their published anthology In Times of Pandemic. In November 2022, my short-story collection A Bed on Bricks was published by Modjaji Books of Cape Town. I am also the volunteer manager of 'Sew Good Namibia' - a collective of disadvantaged Namibian craftswomen who create ecofriendly household products from upcycled furnishing fabric.