@ShallowTales

Curating the finest writings in African and Black Literature.

 Lagos, Nigeria
Joined May 2020
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Issue 25 | June 2026 is live This edition features writers from Nigeria🇳🇬, Uganda 🇺🇬, Kenya 🇰🇪, and Ghana 🇬🇭. Headliner: ‘Pemi Aguda Guest editor (poetry): Loic Ekinga (@1stLoicYouKnow) Cover image: IfeOluwa Nihinlola Follow link in bio to read full issue.
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Ticking Time Bomb | Jean Wathugu The wall clock casts a self-aggrandizing shadow. Each stone bulges in measure, imposing 5 generations of scarcity. Its pomp and pageantry an anachronism. Read full poem on website.
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Submission window for issue 26 closes in seven days. We are open to entries across all genres: poetry, fiction, essays, one-acts, cultural profiles, art, & photography. Guest editor (fiction): Zenas Ubere Read full guidelines on website.
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“Write about something you know, something you’re passionate about, something you can write about with authority.” — Nuzo Onoh (via Authors Interview)
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Writing the Haunted City: In Conversation with ‘Pemi Aguda “The women I write are typically at some critical moment of coming into consciousness, an awareness of themselves and the systems and histories that have borne the present moment.” Read full interview on website.
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Carrying Amin Home | @_sadpoettt “You exhaled only after the plane left the ground. It struck me when I realised I had been holding my own breath, too. It made me want to speak to you… But I said nothing. … we shared a loud silence.” Read full essay on website.
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“I always want to express in my writing the friction between generations. Listening to older people speak has been a huge inspiration for my writing.” — @snjeriwambugu (via The Creative Independent)
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Purple | @fireweedd Spice and bloom,/ colors everywhere, colors,/ in the heart, on the tongue/ the smell of it,/ the taste of all of it,/ colours everywhere. Read full poem on website.
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💪🏽💪🏽
BRITTLE PAPER@brittlepaperOct 15
"'The Blue Fighter' is my work, and I stand by it completely." Caine Prize winner Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza responds to The Atlantic's AI allegations in a new statement, with a full account of the story's development ✍🏾 brittlepaper.com/2026/10/sim…

Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza, Winner of the 2026 Caine Prize, Releases Statement on The Atlantic’s AI...

Zimbabwean writer Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza, who won the £10,000 2026 Caine Prize for African Writing for his short story “The Blue Fighter,” has released a statement responding to the public debate...

brittlepaper.com
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The Shallow Tales Review retweeted
Simba Kundizeza
@S_S_KundizezaOct 13

Statement on The Atlantic article concerning “The Blue Fighter”

Article · @S_S_Kundizeza
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The Shallow Tales Review retweeted
African Writer Magazine@AfWriterMagOct 12
"Can the cockroach be innocent in the gathering of fowls?" - Prof. Ola Rotimi (The Gods Are Not To Blame)
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We stand with the Caine Prize and affirm the legitimacy of “The Blue Fighter.”
The Caine Prize for African Writing@CainePrizeOct 12
A Statement from the Caine Prize for African Writing
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Giving a Speech to Wealthy Donors about Black Refugees in the USA: A Guide | Ola Osaze “The roar has died down. A throbbing silence filled its place. A silence that is itself a living, breathing entity blanketing the cavernous room.” Read full essay on website.
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“The more I write, the more I discover that I know very little as a writer. In fact, I do a better job when I manage to completely disappear and get out of the way.” — @MidiBarya (via @forge_litmag)
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School Girls | Jean Wathugu I’ll pull your cuticle tender,/ Crayon your nails pink,/ Plant a thyme on your temple,/ I gave you all my crisps,/ I’d give you everything. Read full poem on website.
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Issue 26 submissions window is open till October 31st, 2026. We are open to entries across all genres: poetry, fiction, essays, one-acts, cultural profiles, art, & photography. Guest editor (fiction): Zenas Ubere Read full guidelines on website.
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Congratulations to @S_S_Kundizeza! Grateful to the @CainePrize for finding “The Blue Fighter” worthy of this prestigious prize. To African writing.
The Caine Prize for African Writing@CainePrizeOct 6
Zimbabwean writer Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza has been announced as the 2026 Caine Prize winner for his outstanding short story, ‘The Blue Fighter’, published by The Shallow Tales Review in 2025. Read his short story via the link in our bio. #CainePrize26
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Testimony | @iyanam_ today, a woman will hold her son/ as he bleeds into the earth./ but first, she puts me down slowly./ as if to ask that my feet grow familiar/ with crisis so it hesitates to claw at my infant skin Read the full poem on the website.
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“Poetry truly transcends the limitations of time, but not perspective. It has many worthwhile purposes but to me, the truest purpose of poetry is honesty; not truth, but simple honesty.” — Tramaine Suubi (via @afrocritik)
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A Day in the Life of a Member of Parliament | Davina Philomena Kawuma “No one’s told them that their benefactors dine with ours – that the people who fund their outrage also pay our salaries.” Read the full story on the website.
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Issue 26 submissions window is open till October 31st, 2026. We are open to entries across all genres: poetry, fiction, essays, one-acts, cultural profiles, art, & photography. Guest editor (fiction): Zenas Ubere Read full guidelines on website.
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