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10 Outstanding Online Literary Magazines For Lovers Of African Literature – Part I

10 Outstanding Online Literary Magazines For Lovers Of African Literature – Part I

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For literature to thrive, there should be institutions or platforms that encourage, nurture, polish, showcase, and promote it. Literary magazines and journals provide these services. Fortunately, the continent of Africa is dotted with many of these magazines curating an eclectic mix of high-quality literature. Their work is essential to the development of African literature; some persons writing today might not have continued to write if there were no magazines and literary platforms to showcase them.

Literary magazines do so much. From sorting through piles of submissions to fishing out the best among them, polishing the works to their best brilliance, and publishing them, sometimes with monetary compensation and even award of prizes to writers. So, literary magazines, both in print and online, are among the unsung heroes of literature. Some have been around for many years; others are new on the scene but unabashedly publishing beautiful African writing all the same. In honor of their works, here is a selection of phenomenal online literary magazines that you should check out if you are interested in African literature.

Check out 5 online literary magazines to explore if you’re interested in African literature…

#1. Brittle Paper (brittlepaper.com)

online-literary-magazines-africa
Photo: @brittlepaper/Instagram

Brittle Paper, which was founded in 2010 by the Nigerian writer, critic, and academic, Ainehi Edoro, has become one of the most widely read online literary magazines across Africa. It publishes short fiction, poetry, book reviews, essays, interviews, and photographs by African writers and artists documenting the African experience. There is an air of freedom and inclusiveness in Brittle Paper, as it provides a space for socially marginalized writers.

In addition to publishing high-quality creative writing and essays, Brittle Paper fills you in on African books, African writers, and events around them. No magazine does it like Brittle paper. If there’s a spat between African writers, or if a writer wins an important prize, or if an African wins the Nobel Prize, you’ll be sure to find a spellbinding piece about it in this online literary magazine. This platform is a great force for the promotion of African literature and has helped to broaden the space for the production and appreciation of literature in its different forms and leanings. It also presents annual awards and recognition: the African Person of the Year award and the 100 Notable African Books of the Year award.

#2. Doek! Literary Magazine, or Doek! (doeklitmag.com)

online-literary-magazines-africa
Photo: @doeklitmag/Instagram

When Rémy Ngamije and Mutaleni Nadimi founded Doek! in 2019, it became the first literary magazine from Namibia. It publishes poetry, short fiction, creative non-fiction, and visual art from Nambia, Africa, and the African diaspora, with a primary aim to establish Namibian writing and art in the country’s literary consciousness. Doek! publishes three times a year – in March, July, and November – and mainly in English, with some content in indigenous Namibian languages. The platform is at the forefront of recognizing and rewarding literary and artistic talent in Namibia. It hosts the Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards for Namibian writers, poets, and visual artists that have produced resonant works.

#3. Afreada (www.afreada.com)

Photo: @afreada/Instagram

Founded in 2015 by the Nigerian and Pan-African Londoner, Nancy Adimora, Afreada is a unique online literary magazine that publishes high-quality literary content in three categories: short stories, interviews, and book excerpts. If you are looking for a sneak peek of the latest African book in town, explore Afreada. You’ll be delighted to find book excerpts of the latest novels and books by notable African authors such as Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, Emmanuel Iduma, Ayobami Adebayo, Sylva Nze Ifedigbo, Onyi Nwabineli, and Eloghosa Osunde.

#4. Lolwe (lolwe.org)

Photo: @_lolwe/Instagram

The name “Lolwe” is taken from “Nam Lolwe,” which is the Luo name meaning “endless water/lake” and used in reference to Lake Victoria. Founded in 2020 by Kenyan writer Troy Onyango, Lolwe publishes fiction, non-fiction, poetry, literary criticism, and photography, and has a grand vision to amplify the work of writers and artists from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Black diaspora.

The cover images of the magazine’s issues are usually stunning and thought-provoking and have drawn huge attention to the amazing writing and art published. Lolwe also organizes online creative writing workshops and masterclasses by established African writers such as Zukiswa Wanner and Leila Aboulela.

#5. Open Country Mag (opencountrymag.com)

online-literary-magazines-africa
Photo: @opencountrymag/Instagram

Open Country Mag is a magazine like no other in Africa: a platform that tells in-depth stories of the ideas and personalities that shape Africa’s literary and film cultures. Founded in 2020 by the Nigerian writer and editor, Otosirieze, Open Country Mag takes its name from a quest to make a country or world that is open and free from censorship and repression.

It has published well-researched features on some of Africa’s most important writers including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Teju Cole, Tsitsi Dangarembga, and Maaza Mengiste, and the Nigerian movie icon Rita Dominic – all of whom have appeared on the magazine’s exquisitely designed covers. If you are looking for in-depth profiles and features, interviews, news on the shapers of African literary and film/TV culture, new writing, book reviews, and film/TV reviews, Open Country Mag might be your perfect fit.

See 5 more Outstanding Online Literary Magazines For Lovers Of African Literature

Outstanding Online Literary Magazines For Lovers Of African Literature – Part II

Featured image: @brittlepaper/Instagram 


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