Lolwe: From Nam Lolwe, the original or traditional Luo name for Lake Victoria meaning “endless lake/water body”. Therefore, Lolwe meaning endless, meaning “having or seeming to have no end or limit”.
Lolwe is a Pan-African literary magazine that publishes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, and literary criticism. Founded in January 2020 by Troy Onyango, the magazine has a focus on amplifying the work by writers, poets and visual artists from Africa, Caribbean and the Black diaspora. Lolwe aims to publish more work by Black creatives as this is a way to ensure greater visibility for stories by Black people and to give a platform and space for the “Black imagination.”
Lolwe also offers online creative writing workshop-style classes and masterclasses by some of the best African writers through the platform Lolwe Classes.
We have published over 200 writers from Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, USA, UK, Germany, France among others.
The writers we have published have been nominated/shortlisted for various awards including the Caine Prize for African Writing. We submit our writers to the Pushcart Prize and O. Henry Prize.
PRESS & RECOGNITIONS
The New Magazines And Journals Shaping Africa’s Literary Scene • Abdi Latif Dahir, The New York Times
African Literature And Digital Culture • Bhakti Shringarpure, Los Angeles Review of Books
10 Outstanding Online Literary Magazines For Lovers Of African Literature • Nnamdi Oguike, Style Rave
DIGITAL ESCAPES FOR READERS & WRITERS: 20 MUST-READ ONLINE LITERARY JOURNALS •
7 African Literary Platforms to Watch Out For • Precious Obiabunmo, Brittle Paper
From Lolwe to Isele Magazine, Africa’s literary ecosystem is seeing a radical revival powered by young people • Nelson CJ, Ynaija
Kenyan Literary Resources We Recommend Checking Out •
What Lolwe Literary Magazine Offers Africa • Nathaniel Bivan, Daily Trust
DONATIONS
You can support Lolwe’s pledge to pay writers by making a donation to the magazine. Read more on our donate page.
SUBMISSIONS
To send a submission to Lolwe, kindly check the submit page and read the submission guidelines.
PARTNERS & SPONSORS
Lolwe is looking to get into mutually-beneficial partnerships with likeminded individuals and organisations. Please contact us if interested.