“The translators behind No Edges have preserved the unique cadence of every story: each author’s narrative voice is striking and unmistakable. Moreover, the tales all start off with a snippet from the Swahili version, giving the reader a taste of the original. Beautifully translated and rich with interrogations and reminders of our humanity, No Edges is an indispensable read for our increasingly reclusive post-quarantine world.” —Asymptote

“This innovative, Africanfuturist short story collection presents eight stories translated from Swahili by East African writers from Tanzania and Kenya…fascinating, much-needed.” —Margaret Kingsbury, Buzzfeed

“I’ve loved the Calico series from Two Lines Press since its inception. The series presents vanguard works of translated literature in vibrant, strikingly designed editions. Each year, they publish two new titles in the Calico series and each is as good, if not better, than the next. Ranging from speculative Chinese fiction to Arabic poetry and more, each book in the series is built around a theme and captures a unique moment in international literature. No Edges is the first collection of Swahili fiction, Africa’s most widely spoken language, in English translation and introduces readers to eight writers from Tanzania and Kenya. ‘Swahili is the future,’ the collection declares, and moments of everyday life in East Africa are mixed with stories of spaceships and sorcerers. There is a pulsing life to this collection.” —Pierce Alquist, Bookriot

“Untethered imagination is what I’m always hoping for when I read…When people say a book offers everything, it often ticks off all the boxes on a Western checklist. No Edges ticks off all those boxes, comes prepared with its own unique checklist and ticks off those too. With such variety and creativity, there’s going to be at least one (but probably more) story you enjoy.” —Sean Dowie, Locus

“Visionary…These varied and wondrous tales are a literary feast.” —Publishers Weekly

“An absorbing sampler of the literary feast available in Africa's most widely-spoken language, No Edges should leave readers eager to discover more Swahili writers.”  —Shailja Patel, author of Migritude

\“An exciting and timely collection that brings tales of speculative possibility and everyday life to new readers, from one of the most beautiful storytelling traditions in the world.” —… Nyabola, author of Travelling While Black: Essays Inspired by a Life on the Move

“A literary gem glued together by an intricate alchemy between master and apprentice, with exciting contemporary voices from the East African coast speaking to a global audience. A must read.” —Abdulrahman ‘Abu Amirah’ Ndegwa, Curator, Swahili Lit Fest

PRAISE FOR THE CALICO SERIES

“By turns cryptic and revealing, phantasmagorical and straightforward, these tales balance reality and fantasy on the edge of a knife.” —Publishers Weekly, *starred review* of That We May Live: Speculative Chinese Fiction

“Unbelievably exciting…These are poems to read and reread, repeating the lines as though they were a secret between yourself and the page.” —The Paris Review on Home: New Arabic Poems

“Essential, a gift that opens up the pleasures of new worlds.” —Hugh Raffles on Elemental: Earth Stories

“This eclectic bilingual anthology from queer Brazilian writers, both living and dead, is as expansive and full of life as the country itself…enticing and poignant.” —Publishers Weekly on Cuíer: Queer Brazil

Lusajo Mwaikenda Israel is a Tanzanian writer who received his degree in fine and performing arts from the University of Dar es Salaam. He further pursued his Master’s in Community Development (MCED) at Open University of Tanzania and a Post Graduate Diploma in Education at Teofilo Kisanji University. In the 1990s, he was a founding member of Daz Nundaz, a pioneering group of the Bongo Flava and Swahili hip-hop musical genres.

Euphrase Kezilahabi (1944–2020) was a Tanzanian novelist, poet, playwright, and philosopher. Kezilahabi wrote in an everyday Swahili for the masses while simultaneously conveying complex ideas about societal alienation and liberation. Despite not always being accepted by his contemporaries, especially regarding his controversial free-verse poetry, today, as Annmarie Drury states in the foreword to her translation of his poetry, he’s accepted as “a key figure of modernization and democratization, a renovator of the Swahili literary tradition.”

Mwas Mahugu is a Sheng writer and an Afro-hip hop artist who, when not singing, writes, coordinates music events, and manages artists. His Sheng writing was first published by Kwani? in 2005. Later Kwani? featured his work in three more publications. Mwas is also a founding member of Jalada Africa, a pan-African writers collective based in Kenya. As a pioneer Sheng writer, he cofounded Tribe 43—a one-page Sheng magazine featured on People Daily and now in its fifth year. Mwas writes to discover and loves to capture real life street experiences in his writing.

Katama G. C. Mkangi (1944–2004) was a novelist, activist, and sociologist born in southeast Kenya, best known for his three novels, Ukiwa (1975), Mafuta (1984), and Walenisi (1995). He came by his interest in political satire honestly; under the regime of President Daniel arap Moi, Mkangi was held as a political prisoner from 1986–1988 for his association with the underground Mwakenya Movement that agitated for multiparty democracy.

Clara Momanyi is a Kenyan academic, creative writer, and translator who has been teaching Kiswahili literature in Kenyan universities for many years. Her creative works include novels such as Tumaini (Hope), Nakuruto, and Nguu za Jadi (Old summits). Some of her children’s books include Ushindi wa Nakate (Nakate’s Victory), which won the 2015 Text Book Centre Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature; Siku ya Wajinga (Fools’ day); and Pendo Katika Shari (Love in adversity).  She has also written several Kiswahili short stories, which have appeared in various Kiswahili short story anthologies.  Professor Momanyi has also published numerous academic papers in peer-reviewed journals in Africa, Asia, and Europe.