5 online literary magazines Nigerian readers should visit
There are a lot of distractions on the internet today, but if you are literary-minded, Bookshelf is here to offer you some focus.
African, and particularly Nigerian literature, is evolving by the day, and with it a good number of online platforms to help it on its way, from Omenana to Brittle Paper, James Murua’s Literature Blog to Lagos Review, Lolwe and several more.
Omenana
This is a tri-monthly magazine that publishes speculative fiction from across Africa and the African diaspora. Currently, they have produced not less than thirteen issues. Their concept is fresh and their artwork exceptional. If you are looking for where to get tales that make you shiver or transport you to another realm, you need Omenana. Its team include Chiagozie Fred Nwonwu (Co-founder/Managing Editor), Chinelo Onwualu (Co-founder), Iquo DianaAbasi (Contributing Editor) and Godson ChukwuEmeka Okeiyi (Graphic Designer).
Brittle Paper
This online literary magazine was founded in 2010 by Nigeria’s Ainehi Edoro while working on her PhD. She is currently an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she teaches and researches on African literature, political theory, and literature in social media. She wrote back then that the blog was her gateway to exploring African literature. Its focus is on news, interviews, reviews and much more. It does a lot in the area of innovative content which includes feature stories that dig deeper into the literary scene. In 2014, it was named a Go-To-Book Blog by Publishers Weekly.
James Murua’s Literature Blog
This is another platform for latest news and reviews about or on the African continent. It was created in 2013 by James Murua, a Kenya-based blogger, journalist and editor who has written for a variety of media outlets in a career spanning print, web and TV. The log was nominated for Best Creative Writing Blog for the 2018 Bloggers Association of Kenya Awards.
Lagos Review
This magazine launched out as a platform for reviews, including books, music, movies and entertainment news. Founded in 2019 by Nigerian poet Dami Ajayi and novelist and PR management executive Toni Kan, according to what is written on the website, it “intends to bring back the critical and analytical rigour evident in the glory days of The Guardian Literary Series, The Post Express Literary Supplement (PELS) and The Sunday Sun Revue.”
Lolwe
Established in January 2020, Lolwe is an online magazine that publishes fiction, literary criticism, personal essays, photography, and poetry. It’s founded by Kenyan writer Troy Onyango, inaugural winner of Nyanza Literary Festival Prize and first runner-up in the Black Letter Media Competition. He has also been shortlisted for the Short Story Day Africa Prize, the Brittle Paper Awards, and nominated for the Pushcart Prize. In an exclusive interview with Daily Trust, Onyango revealed that the bulk of the sites submissions come from Nigerians.