Kwani? is Kenya’s first literary journal. It was launched in 2003 with Binyavanga Wainaina as its first editor.
Kwani? has published some of the most exciting writing coming out of Africa. Writers whose work have appeared in the journal include Doreen Baingana, Uwem Akpan, Parselelo Kantai, Mukoma wa Ngugi, David Kaiza and Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, whose short story published in the first edition of Kwani? won the 2003 Caine Prize for African Writing.
In 2009, Kwani? announced a fiction call-out under the heading the ‘Africa I Live In’. Over 700 short stories were received in response, and Kwani? organised a workshop, held a retreat, and finally announced 15 winners to be published in Kwani? 6. The competition judges were Doreen Baingana, Parselelo Kantai, Dr Wambui Mwangi, Kwamchetsi Makokha and Dr Tom Odhiambo. The 3 top-winning stories were by Mehul Gohil, Brenda Mukami and Wilson Wahome.
In a recent announcement, Kwani? states: “In November 2010, after we selected the final stories for Kwani? 6, the magazine continued to receive stories of great quality . . . there remain stories that didn’t make Kwani? 6 because of editorial horse-trading, the absence of an additional end-paragraph, a final rewrite from the writer, a tweak of characterisation . . . there was also the fact of deadline pressures and just space. Since then, we have re-addressed that by creating a Kwani? Online fiction platform called the Kwani? 6 Redux series.”
The Kwani? 6 Redux series starts off in West Africa with short stories by Iheoma Nwachukwu, Olujide Adebayo-Begun and A. Igoni Barrett.
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