What is the future of Omenana speculative fiction magazine?
This is the question I get asked all the time by people who are interested in Omenana’s role in the African and black diaspora speculative fiction sphere.
It is a question I still struggle to answer.
My answers vary, as they are driven by my mood and the place Omenana is, production wise, when the question is asked.
Sometimes, I say that I see Omenana occupying a place of pride, among the best of the best in this genre. Other times I say I am hoping it remains a place of discovery and fulfilment of hopes and desires for the African writer of the speculative. Then there are times I say I just want it to survive and not disappear like many literary magazines around Africa have done after that initial bump.
For Omenana not to disappear into the sunset, we will have to make drastic changes (such as getting more hands to help us run the magazine and try for a more formalised structure) and we have started the process. It may take a while, but we will get there and then we can begin to see a more regular publication schedule.
Anyways, we have an edition ready and it offers an array of established and fantastic new voices.
We had fun reading the stories here, from the familiar to the experimental, and we hope you do too.
No need to bore you with a long story. Like we say in Lagos “make we begin!”.
Mazi Nwonwu