A. Happy Umwagarwa is an author, novelist, storyteller, and poet from Rwanda.

Born on 15 August 1979, when she was barely 15, In 1994, Happy survived the genocide against the Tutsi, which took the lives of her father and other family members. That experience and what she had to endure as a teenager and young adult in post-genocide Rwanda left her with many puzzles about why people think, feel, and act the way they do.

Guided by the quote from Toni Morrison, “If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it,” Happy states that she writes for herself, her daughters, her compatriots, and the entire humanity. She hopes her books, stories, and poems shall promote a culture of peace and respect for diversity in her country and beyond.

Despite the thorns of life she had to step on, Happy graduated from the University of Greenwich, London, with a master’s degree in management, and in addition to her writing endeavors, she is an international human resources professional. Since 2011, Happy has been an international civil servant, an employee of the United Nations who has served in Rwanda, Sudan, and the USA (for UNDP), in Gabon (for the UN Secretariat), and currently in the Netherlands (for the International Court of Justice). 

Happy is married and a mother to two wonderful daughters whom she calls her little angels.