Lolwe, the Kenya-based magazine centering African and Black writers, has released its third issue.

The issue is guest-edited by Akhim Alexis, a Trinidad and Tobago poet and Elfreda Tetteh, a Berlin-based Ghanaian writer. As with previous issues, this one features a diverse body of writers from Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Trinidad & Tobago, Kenya, Angola, St. Kitts & Nevis, Benin, South Africa, Brazil, USA, UK, Ghana and Cyprus.

The beautiful illustrations that accompany each piece are by Nigerian artist Mòje Ikpeme, and the cover design by Kenyan photographer Teddy Tavan. The issue contains fiction by Allegra Solomon, Isaiah Frost Rivera, Itumeleng Molefi, Carlisle Richardson, Ngozi John, and João Melo; poetry by Anointing Obuh, Jay Kophy, Ebony Chinn, Wallace Lane, Maxine Archer, and Moyosore Orimoloye; essays by Gervaise Savvias, Uduak-estelle Basssey, Hassan Kassim, and YarriKamara; and photography by: Laeïla Adjovi and Guilherme Bergamini. 

A statement by the Guest Editors read: “These stories, essays, poems and photographs are dazzling, genre-bending things; a masterful use of an unforgiving form and a rebellion against the limiting definition of The Black Artist. Perhaps it’s overly simple to just say they are very, very good but that is the truth and we’re excited for you to see why.”

In just a little over a year since its founding, Lolwe has achieved remarkable milestones, publishing some of the continent’s finest established and emerging voices, including one that went on to be shortlisted for the 2021 Caine Prize for African Writing. The magazine equally has two subsidiaries — the Lolwe bookshop, an online outlet for readers of African literature, and Lolwe classes for writers interested in refining their craft. Lolwe is also known for it commitment to paying writers. (Find out how to support the good work they do here.)

Read the issue here.