Ocen Laury Lawrence

Date of Birth: November 1970,

Place of Birth: Lira, northern Uganda

Languages spoken: Luo, English

Writing language: English

Education: Started school in 1976 at Anal Primary School going on to do '0' level at Lira Town College and finished 'A' level at Lango College, all in Lira district. Ocen obtained a bachelors with honours in education in 1995 from the Mbale-based Islamic University in Uganda  
Employment: Presently  teaching at Lango College
 
Bibliography: The Alien Woman. Kampala: Fountain Publishers, 1999. A second novel, Malaya, awaits publication by lThuntain Publishers.

Comment: Ocen concerns himself at least as far as his first novel goes, with ethnic prejudice that has for a long time undermined our identity as humans with common strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. A society that stigmatizes other societies with the view of preserving its own values is not only perpetuating hostilities, but also alienating itself from very useful discoveries about the world beyond their frontiers, he says.