I smell the imminence of my death. ‘’Finally!’ Today, we graduate from arwate girls to saale women ready for marriage. My fellow initiates beam, all of them looking forward to being 5th wives. But for me, death by the Miilika, to see Mama again, is utopia, as compared to a forcible wedlock. The promise of … Read more
As a frequent traveller to Okanowach, due to the nature of my work, I want to share what I’ve learned so far. To be able to visit Okanowach, you must lure it into existence, for this elusive place only makes its presence known to those who can reach it should they try. To get to … Read more
The day Nkatha fell began so unexceptionally ordinary in every way but for the warm, clear skies in the middle of July. The yellow sun above haloed bright over the snow-capped mountain so that everything its light touched gleamed in the startling hues of emerald and blue. And all about, stretched out far past the … Read more
When Natelo was 14 years old, she died. Her mother, Amy, was special; she could see and hear things that no one else could. Sometimes, she could even see into the future — as if her eyes were a God-given telescope. She had been blessed with this gift when Natelo was 11 years old, and … Read more
Bukata blasted off in her family drifter, accelerating into Chepela’s sky at the planet’s teeth-rattling escape velocity. Gravity pushed her stiffly into her seat, triggering the drifter’s A.I. to take over the rushed flight to orbit. The universe’s dark, radiated womb greeted the drifter with a cushioning embrace as propulsion slowed. She was late for … Read more
The Will This Be A Problem Anthology is back this year for its fifth issue, and we are once again looking for works of speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy and horror by authors from the African continent. SUBMISSION GUIDELINES Submissions open on midnight, 16th of February, 2024 (12:00AM GMT +3) and close on midnight, 16th … Read more
“It seems to be working,” the man’s voice said. It sounded distant, with the reverberation of his voice echoing down a long empty corridor. The room was completely dark. Apart from the sounds of a few murmuring voices and the beeps and whirs of unseen machinery, everything was still. The air smelled unnaturally sterile and … Read more
The door is old. You can see it in the flaked black paint, rusted metal and in the design that has been out of fashion for nearly 15 years. Whenever anyone opens it, it is loud with creaks and groans and rattles. It is like an old man yelling at people who bother him long … Read more
[The below is an excerpt from Manes & Dandelions, A novella by Kevin Rigathi, available in 2020 from Will This Be A Problem] I. Unexpected Trespasses Nairobi City, in the year 1992 The first thing I learned about my master was not to question him, however tempting it might be, until it became absolutely … Read more
[The below is an excerpt from Pieces of Wood, A novella by Peter Nena, available in 2020 from Will This Be A Problem] I. Mary had a strange dream in which a man was standing over her. It was a large man of disproportionate size and shape, and whose shadow was as wide as the … Read more