A story titled Hiraeth by Muthi Nhlema from an anthology Mombera Rising, a creation of Nhlema and Ekari Mbvundula Chirombo has been listed among the top 10 Best African Speculative Short Fiction Stories of 2024.
The list has been compiled by Wole Talabi, an engineer, writer and editor from Nigeria, author of the critically acclaimed Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon, which was named one of the best books of 2023 by The Washington Post.
Apart from Hiraeth, the other African stories that have made the list include We Who Will Not Die by Shingai Kagunda from Kenya, The Grit Born from The Dark Magazine by Frances Ogamba from Nigeria and The Future Ancients from Will This Be A Problem: The Magazine by Mwenya Chikwa from Zambia.
“I have made the list highlighting the African speculative fiction I read and enjoyed the most. The stories I found most compelling and wanted to let others know about it,” Talabi said.
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Nhlema’s story follows Koyi, an Ensangweni (one of the eight elders who advises the Inkosi – the king, as he discovers troubling news during a negotiation with the Southlanders (implied to be the rest of Malawi).
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“The news that my story has been included in this top 10 list is both gratifying and humbling. As writers, we often labour over our stories in solitude, and when we finally share them with the world, we eagerly anticipate feedback – because feedback is what helps us grow and refine our craft,” he said.
Nhlema further said that to have his story recognised in this way, is the best feedback any writer could hope for.
“It affirms that my story – a Malawian story – is one worth telling and reading,” he said.
The anthology – Mombera Rising, is part of the African Futures project that explores alternative preferred futures by using indigenous knowledge systems and belief systems to chat a new direction towards a sustainable future,
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This is a free digital collection of Malawian speculative eco-fiction stories and artwork that envision a Ngoni future over the next century.
The anthology is part of a project that was supported by Swedish Research Council, Formas Project and the Future Ecosystems for Africa Programme at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa in partnership with Oppenheimer Generations Research and Conservation.
