Qwani and Substack Satos present

Substack
Kenya Awards2026

A celebration of the writers Kenya reads in its inbox.

Voting is open

Vote now
  • 14 categories
  • Free to nominate and vote
  • 14 categories
  • Free to nominate
  • Free to vote
  • Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Essays
  • Criticism
  • Journalism
  • Kenyan writing, celebrated

Vote for your favourites

The nominees are in. You get one vote in each category, and the most votes wins.

0 of 12 categories voted

Literary & Creative Arts

Fiction & Narrative Prose

Short stories, serialized fiction, and flash fiction.

Pick one

  • Author Ongoma Sakwah

    ongomasakwah.substack.com

    A Kenyan crime fiction author. Scriptwriter. Ghostwriter. My detective crime book; COWARDS DIE SMILING, is coming out soon.

Literary & Creative Arts

Poetry & Experimental Writing

Modern digital poetry, spoken word transcripts, and hybrid prose.

Pick one

Literary & Creative Arts

Memoir & Personal Essay

Non-fiction personal stories addressing identity, growth, and lived experience.

Pick one

Critical Thought & Society

Cultural & Arts Criticism

Reviews and critiques of Kenyan literature, film, music, theatre, and visual arts.

Pick one

Critical Thought & Society

Sociopolitical & Historical Commentary

Long-form analysis of governance, civic life, history, and social movements.

Pick one

  • John Kamau’s 'Historia Yetu" newsletter

    johnkamau.substack.com

    I am an award-winning African investigative journalist and historian. In 2016, I was voted Kenya's journalist of the Year. If you love public history and investigative journalism subscribe here and there: https://www.youtube.com/@HistoryWorksTV

Critical Thought & Society

Philosophy & Contemporary Thought

Intellectual deep dives, ethics, and contemporary human experiences.

Pick one

  • Gaitano🔅

    favourgaitano.substack.com

    Welcome to Sunshine's sharp social commentary mixed with raw introspection.

  • The Write Path

    kaguura.substack.com

    Ideas and practical systems for thinking clearly, writing better, and building a body of work that compounds

Research, Journalism & Niche Non-Fiction

Investigative & Explanatory Journalism

Deep-dive reporting, public interest features, and data-driven pieces.

Pick one

  • An Africanist Perspective

    africanistperspective.com

    African political economy, foreign affairs, and general commentary.

  • The Signal Newsletter by Africa Uncensored

    thesignal815.substack.com

    Every story has dots, we connect them. Sharp analysis & hard questions on the socioeconomic, cultural, and public discourse issues that shape our lives, societies and futures.

  • Zinah’s Substack

    zinahissa.substack.com

    Reflecting on the cognitive and sociocultural nature of our societies.

Research, Journalism & Niche Non-Fiction

Creative non-fiction

This category celebrates interesting and fun opinion or analysis essays that explore the day-to-day experiences of being a Kenyan

Pick one

Honorifics & Platform Excellence

Best Series

Long-form, multi-part newsletters.

Pick one

  • Queerphobia in Present-Day Africa

    by Levi

    Read the piece

  • Privilege blindness: A Kienyeji, pick-me, baddie discourse.

    by Torials

    Read the piece
Honorifics & Platform Excellence

Best New Voice

Debut writers whose newsletter launched within the past 12 months.

Pick one

Honorifics & Platform Excellence

Literary Ecosystem Supporter

Festivals, community spaces, independent bookshops, and literary clubs.

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  • Alliance Francaise de Nairobi

    instagram.com

  • Goethe Institut Nairobi

    instagram.com
Honorifics & Platform Excellence

Article of the Year

The single most impactful piece published on Substack Kenya in the past year.

Pick one

  • ANOTHER TSAVO HOUSE PARTY IM NOT

    by CARLOS’s Substack

    Read the piece

  • Kenya has not been americanized you have been looking at the wrong Kenya

    by Marani

    Read the piece

  • The Pan-Africanism of it all.

    by this man's mind

    Read the piece

How it works

  1. Nominate

    Put forward the writers, pieces and organisations you love. Anyone can, for free.

    Done

  2. 2

    Vote

    We pick the nominees from your nominations, then you vote. One vote per category.

    Happening now

  3. 3

    Winners

    The nominee with the most votes in each category takes the award.

    Coming up

What winners take home

A trophy is nice. A wider readership and a paid byline are better.

Publication
Winning pieces are republished in partner media outlets, at paid writer rates.
Trophy and certificate
A locally crafted trophy and an official framed certificate for every winner.
Substack acceleration package
An editorial consultation, a professionally designed newsletter header, and promotion across Qwani's channels.
Writer micro-grants
Cash prizes in selected categories, where a category sponsor funds them.

A lot of Kenya's best writing now arrives by email. Time to throw it a party.

Writers, researchers, critics and journalists across Kenya are publishing long, independent work on Substack. It is free to read and open to anyone, and it is still too often waved away as blogging.

These awards are here to change that: to celebrate online writing as literature, to reward work that is researched and polished, and to put new voices next to established ones.

Organised by Qwani through Substack Satos, our monthly gathering of readers and writers at Cheche Bookshop.

Questions

Voting is open

The nominees are in. You get one vote in each category, and the most votes wins.

Vote nowPartner with the awards