“This country is fucked up. What shit are they celebrating?” Mbatu nods towards the noisy bunch of students who have occupied every table in this open-air bar. They are singing and dancing as if someone just won a million dollars in the lottery. These are the boys and girls who say they have ‘swag’. Girls…
It was always the most complete kind of feeling. Her head underwater, deaf to everything above the surface. Her ears opened to her own heartbeat and the residual of another from years ago, thrumming above the womb she nested in. She sucked water in and out of her mouth. It was her childish triumph, to…
Fear has a taste. It is this metallic tang that floods my mouth as I quicken my steps. My heart is a frantic tattoo, my mouth impossibly dry. I swallow. My tongue glues itself to the roof of my mouth. I squeeze Fatima’s hand and feel her answering squeeze. My breaths slow. And then the…
It was a pleasure to read all the stories on the long list. The themes of the stories were varied however many reflected in different ways the realities of life in our societies. Spousal abuse; the apathy of civil servants; the torment of living to a very old age; were some of the themes tackled…
Mulumba Ivan Matthias is a Ugandan author living in Kampala, Uganda. He is a valuation surveyor by profession. His first collection of poetry, Poetry In Motion, was published in 2012. His poetry and short fiction have been published in The Kalahari Review, Readers’ Café Africa, and Africa Book Club. His story “Into the Bush” won the December 2013…
Zimbabwean artists, particularly writers, have been skeptical of wills and this has led to the mismanagement or utter neglect of their artistic estates when they pass on. While families of deceased artists may largely carry the blame for not raising a brow, artists need also to take responsibility of their creative works as these constitute…
“My review [of We Need New Names] is a very funny one,” says Nkiacha Atemnkeng, “but I think the funniest novel in African literature ever also deserves a funny book review.” This is more than a review. Atemnkeng presents a personal response, in honour of his his role model, NoViolet Bulawayo, the author of one…
Mavara is a woman born on 9 January 1992. She is studying Marketing at Africa University in Mutare Zimbabwe. Mavara loves to write and design. She also enjoys music and is a member of the Africa University choir. She is the last child in a family of four children. Her poems are inspired by the diversity she…
Chichichapatile Mangochi, is pseudonym of Nixon Mateulah. Nixon Mateulah was born in Lilongwe, Malawi. He moved to South Africa in 1996. He is a poet, writer, script writer and playwright. He has published numerous short stories and poems in numerous publications: Storymoja, Reporter, Poetry Institute of Africa anthologies, Aerodrome, New Vision, Christian Poetry Anthology, Journey of Faith, Nations, etc. His debut novel, A…
