Isaac Kilibwa was crowned as the overall winner of the 2023 Kikwetu Flash Fiction Contest for his work titled, Cul-de-sac.
Isaac will receive a $150 cash prize in addition to his story being published in issue 9 of Kikwetu.
Along with Isaac’s work, those who made the finalist will have their stories published as well. Here are the finalists in no particular order:
•Dead Skin by Florence Onyango
•Akara by Chinaza James-Ibe
•OHÀHÀ’NYI by Abdulrahaman Adeiza Jimoh
•A Basket Full of Spilled Water by Chiemeziem Everest Udochukwu
Born out of the Nairobi-based writing group in 2015, Kikwetu is an annual online literary journal that publishes both new and established writers from East Africa and beyond in English and Swahili.
To read more on the Flash Fiction Contest, visit their website on www.kikwetujournal.com
Congratulations to Isaac and the talented authors who made the longlist and final list!
Bongiwe T. Maphosa
Bongiwe Maphosa is a writer whose fiction and poetry offers fresh, imaginative perspectives on the human condition. Her work has been published in prominent literary spaces, including Isele Magazine, Akowdee Magazine, the AVBOB Poetry Anthology, Journal of African Youth in Literature (JAY Lit), and more. She was also nominated for the 2025 Best of the Net Anthology. Bongiwe is one of six writers selected for the inaugural Caine Prize Online Editing program and serves as a content writer, peer reviewer, and tier three awards judge for JAYLit. Bridging inner reflection with speculative worlds, she continues to carve out a distinctive voice within contemporary African literature for a growing global audience.
