Troy Onyango (born 1993) is a Kenyan writer, editor and lawyer. His work has appeared in journals and magazines including ''

Prairie Schooner ''Prairie Schooner'' is a literary magazine published quarterly at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with the cooperation of UNL's English Department and the University of Nebraska Press. It is based in Lincoln, Nebraska and was first publi ...

'', ''

Wasafiri ''Wasafiri'' is a quarterly British literary magazine covering international contemporary writing. Founded in 1984, the magazine derives its name from a Swahili word meaning "travellers" that is etymologically linked with the Arabic word "safari ...

'', ''

Caine Prize The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the best short story by an African writer, whether in Africa or elsewhere, published in the English language. Founded in the United Kingdom in 2000, the £10,000 prize was named ...

Anthology'', ''

Brittle Paper ''Brittle Paper'' is an online literary magazine styled as an "African literary blog" published weekly in the English language. Its focus is on "build(ing) a vibrant African literary scene." It was founded by Ainehi Edoro (at the time a doctora ...

'', and ''

Transition Magazine ''Transition Magazine'' was established in 1961 by Rajat Neogy as ''Transition Magazine: An International Review''. It was published from 1961 to 1976 in various countries on the African continent, and since 1991 in the United States. In recen ...

'' issue 121, for which his short story "The Transfiguration" was nominated for the

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

. His short story "For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings" won the fiction prize for the inaugural Nyanza Literary Festival (NALIF) Prize.

Life and career

Troy Onyango was born and grew up in

Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya located in the Lake Victoria area in the former Nyanza Province. It is the second-largest city after Kampala in the Lake Victoria Basin. The city has a population of slightly over 600,000. The ...

, an inland port city along the shores of

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...

in Western

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. He attended the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a college, collegiate research university based in Nairobi and is the largest List of universities and colleges in Kenya, university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dat ...

, where he studied law. He obtained an MA in creative writing from the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

where he was a recipient of the

Miles Morland Foundation Writing Scholarship The Miles Morland Foundation Writing Scholarship, also called the Morland Writing Scholarships or the Miles Morland Writing Scholarship is an annual financial scholarship awarded to four to six African writers to enable them write a fiction or no ...

. In 2016, he won the inaugural Nyanza Literary Festival (NALIF) Prize for his short story, "For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings". In the same year, his short story "The Transfiguration", which follows the life of a

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

character who struggles to navigate

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, was nominated for the

by ''

''. He was also shortlisted for the Miles Morland Foundation Scholarship. He has also attended the Ebedi International Writers' Residency in

Iseyin Iseyin is a town located in Oyo, Nigeria. It is approximately north of Ibadan. The town was estimated to have a population of 236,000, according to United Nations 2005 estimate, which increased to 362,990 in 2011, and has a total land mass of ...

Oyo State Oyo is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the List of Nigerian cities by population, third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo ...

, Nigeria. In 2018, Troy was listed among the 21 Best African Writers of the New Generation by ''Woke Africa''. Troy Onyango is the founder and editor of ''

Lolwe ''Lolwe'' is an online magazine that publishes fiction, literary criticism, personal essays, photography, and poetry. History ''Lolwe'' was founded in January 2020 by Kenyan writer and editor Troy Onyango. According to the website the origin ...

'', an online magazine that publishes fiction, literary criticism, personal essays, photography, and poetry. He is also the editor of Panorama: The Journal of Intelligent Travel, a British literary journal with a modern focus on travel literature, art, and photography.

Works

Short stories

*"All Things Bright & Beautiful" in ''Caine Prize Anthology'' (2018) *"Little Daju" in ''AFREADA'' *"Wet Ash" in ''Ebedi Review'' *"For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings?" *"The Transfiguration" in ''Transition Magazine''With these prizes, the future of writing in Africa is in safe hands https://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/weekend/WANNER-the-future-of-writing-in-Africa-is-in-safe-hands/1220-3449440-rrsi1sz/

References

External links

Troy Onyango
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Onyango, Troy 1993 births Living people University of Nairobi alumni Alumni of the University of East Anglia Kenyan writers Kenyan male writers 21st-century Kenyan writers People from Kisumu County Kenyan Luo people