Africa No Filter

A journal dedicated to celebrating and amplifying the voices of Ghanaian creatives by providing a space for poetry, prose, creative non-fiction, and visual art/photography.​


The Hummingbird is a digital literary and arts journal rooted in the mission of spotlighting and amplifying the creative voices of Ghanaian writers and artists. As a project under Creatives Project GH, the journal aims to create an accessible platform that documents and celebrates the richness of Ghana’s literary and artistic expression.

Our key objectives are:
1. To showcase emerging and established Ghanaian creatives — including poets, fiction and non-fiction writers, photographers, illustrators, and visual artists — by publishing their work in curated, high-quality issues.


2. To provide visibility and validation for young creatives, especially those who have not yet had the opportunity to be published or featured on professional platforms.


3. To preserve and promote Ghanaian culture, identity, and imagination through storytelling, language, photography, and various forms of artistic expression.


4. To inspire critical thought and creative dialogue among creatives, readers, and the broader public through diverse themes explored in each issue.


5. To archive the artistic and literary works of Ghana’s youth, creating a timeless body of work that reflects the evolution of Ghanaian creativity in the digital age.


We currently accept works only from Ghanaian Writers, both local and abroad, including those born and raised in Ghana as well as individuals with Ghanaian heritage. 

A targeted resource for short story placements with potential for Pushcart recognition.

Fiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

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Best Microfiction, edited by Meg Pokrass and Gary Fincke, celebrates the art of the extremely brief narrative. These publications have editorial teams with particular sensitivity to the craft.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best Microfiction

A curated selection of publications that regularly submit work to this prestigious annual anthology showcasing 50 poems from emerging writers.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best New Poets

Publications that nominate work for this respected anthology series founded in 2015 by Tara Masih to celebrate fiction under 1,000 words.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for Best Small Fictions

Professional publications featuring work that becomes eligible for this prestigious peer-selected honor. Established in 1965 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for the Nebula Awards

A comprehensive guide to journals that regularly nominate work for the Pushcart Prize.

Literary Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Check out the all-time most popular speculative fiction literary magazines. These publications have a long-standing reputation for quality speculative fiction.

Most Popular Speculative Fiction Magazines of All Time

Highlights publications that regularly put forward essays, memoirs, and other creative nonfiction for Pushcart consideration.

Nonfiction Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

Focuses specifically on poetry journals with established histories of Pushcart nominations.

Poetry Magazines That Nominate for the Pushcart Prize

The HummingBird Journal

ISSUE 1: What We’re Looking For [Please, read everything carefully]
This is an OPEN issue.

You can submit any form of original work — poetry, short fiction, CNF, art, or photography, based on any theme, topic or subject.

But there’s one condition…

Your work must be narrative-shifting.

We’re looking for pieces that shake things up. Works that challenge old perspectives, amplify new voices and reimagine the world we live in.

What does narrative-shifting mean to us?

Work that confronts stereotypes or silences

Work that centres underrepresented voices

Work that disrupts the status quo

Work that offers radical imagination, joy, or resistance

Works that bring Ghana to a new light, reimagined futures, etc

By all means, go bold, go different, do whatever you like; it is an open issue after all, but there should be some narrative shift (however best you decide to interpret that) underpinning—no matter how subtle or loud.

In essence:

If your work moves people to think differently, feel deeply, or see the world anew, we want it.

Issue 1: The HummingBird Journal

We are looking for works that make us remember. Works that sit us down and ask us to touch the past as it lives in the present, or what mirrors the present from the past. This issue asks us to tuck memory into language and serve it with life.

It asks you to imagine yourself in moments you never lived but carry within you. Important dates you wish you had witnessed. 

You might want to search and tap from an old wine that still tastes like home. You might choose to render the fine details of a single day, a place, a body, or a year, as it might have felt to live inside it. Its sounds, its smell, its silence, its texture, even its people.

What does history feel like when it is handed back to you, not as fact alone, but as a living memory?

Ghana is a country layered with histories—written and oral, celebrated and obliterated, remembered and forgotten. From precolonial kingdoms to the transatlantic slave trade, from independence to everyday moments that never entered the archives, our past continues to shape who we are. Tap into this expansive archive of rich history.

We are seeking prose rooted in Ghanaian history. This might include (but is not limited to): Reimagined lives of historical figures, reimagined historical events, lesser-known or forgotten historical moments, family histories shaped by larger national events, among others. 

These pieces can be bold and/or experimental approaches to the past. 

This is open to only Ghanaian writers.
At The Hummingbird, we use ‘Ghanaian’ broadly and inclusively. You are welcome to submit if you:

Are a Ghanaian citizen, whether living in Ghana or abroad
Are of Ghanaian heritage or descent (including mixed heritage)
Are a non-Ghanaian who has a strong and lived connection to Ghana, for example, by being born in Ghana and living here all your life or having had a long-term residence.
2. You must be 18 years or older.

3. Writers published in our previous issue cannot submit.

Issue 2 - Ghana's Histories

We are looking for works that make us remember. Works that sit us down and ask us to touch the past as it lives in the present, or what mirrors the present from the past. This issue asks us to tuck memory into language and serve it with life.

It asks you to imagine yourself in moments you never lived but carry within you. Important dates you wish you had witnessed. 

You might want to search and tap from an old wine that still tastes like home. You might choose to render the fine details of a single day, a place, a body, or a year, as it might have felt to live inside it. Its sounds, its smell, its silence, its texture, even its people.

What does history feel like when it is handed back to you, not as fact alone, but as a living memory?

Ghana is a country layered with histories—written and oral, celebrated and obliterated, remembered and forgotten. From precolonial kingdoms to the transatlantic slave trade, from independence to everyday moments that never entered the archives, our past continues to shape who we are. Tap into this expansive archive of rich history.

We are seeking creative non-fiction pieces engaging Ghanaian history, personal essays on oral histories, memory work, archival fragments engaged creatively, and reflections on how the past lives in the present, among others. Get creative. 

We are looking for works that make us remember. Works that sit us down and ask us to touch the past as it lives in the present, or what mirrors the present from the past. This issue asks us to tuck memory into language and serve it with life.

It asks you to imagine yourself in moments you never lived but carry within you. Important dates you wish you had witnessed. 

You might want to search and tap from an old wine that still tastes like home. You might choose to render the fine details of a single day, a place, a body, or a year, as it might have felt to live inside it. Its sounds, its smell, its silence, its texture, even its people.

What does history feel like when it is handed back to you, not as fact alone, but as a living memory?

Ghana is a country layered with histories—written and oral, celebrated and obliterated, remembered and forgotten. From precolonial kingdoms to the transatlantic slave trade, from independence to everyday moments that never entered the archives, our past continues to shape who we are. Tap into this expansive archive of rich history.

We are interested in poems that excavate memory, lineage, and inheritance; work drawing from both written and oral histories. Lyric, narrative, or experimental engagements with history. Explore with form, style and poetry types. 

The Hummingbird Journal is pleased to announce a call for applications for a special historical fiction workshop led by acclaimed Ghanaian writer Ayesha Harruna Attah, as part of our March 2025 issue themed 'Ghana Histories.'

This workshop is designed for two writers who will be working on a short fiction rooted in Ghanaian history. Selected writers will spend approximately four weeks in guided sessions with Ayesha Harruna Attah, focusing on research, story development, and revision. This is a workshop and mentorship experience, not a standard editorial process.
At the end of the workshop, participants will submit their revised stories for consideration in The Hummingbird Journal’s March issue.



Who Should Apply
Ghanaian writers (home-based or diaspora)
Writers interested in working on a short historical fiction set in Ghana or engaging deeply with Ghanaian histories (documented or oral).
Writers who want the opportunity to be mentored by a seasoned author.
Writers seeking understanding of how to be historical fiction writers.
Emerging or early-career writers are especially encouraged to apply.
Applicants must be available to participate in virtual (Zoom) sessions over four weeks in February 2026.

The Hummingbird Historical Fiction Workshop

As part of our celebration of African Union Day, HummingBird Journal is opening her doors to all writers from the continent, living here or abroad.<div></div><div>We do not have a prescribed theme for this issue. What we are seeking is work that feels ‘authentically African’. Now, we will not attempt to define or write a thesis on what that means—this continent is too vast, too layered, too beautifully diverse for any single definition to hold.</div><div></div><div>Send us your strongest, truest representation of the place you come from, the cultures that shape you, the stories you carry, the relationships you’ve built, the funny moments that give you warmth, and the futures you imagine, among others. Let your work remind us of Africa as we know it–or would like to know it. Your choice.</div><div></div><div>But note: we have a narrative shifting mandate (read more on this on our website).</div><div></div><div>As we always say, go bold, go wild. We would like to encounter pieces that take us home on a journey. We will know them when we encounter them.</div><div></div><div>Please, don’t be afraid to use languages other than English in your piece. Just be sure to include translations.</div>

This call is open to African writers only.

At The Hummingbird, we use ‘African’ broadly and inclusively. You are welcome to submit if you:

are a citizen of an African country, whether living on the continent or in the diaspora

are of African heritage or descent (including mixed heritage)

are a non-African with a strong and lived connection to the continent, for example, by being born, raised, or having long-term residence in an African country

You must be 18 years or older.

Writers published in Issues 1 and 2 are not eligible to submit.

We do not accept works generated in whole or in part with AI tools. We have a strong anti-AI policy. We live for the nuances of human creativity. Look elsewhere if you cannot write your work yourself!

We do not accept previously published work. This includes blogs, self-published pieces, or any publication that retains public access.

This Is Africa, As We Know It - HummingBird Issue 3 Call For Submission

<div>Ghanaian commercial vehicles, particularly trotros, are famous for their rear-view inscriptions. These inscriptions reflect the pulse of our streets and daily life. They are mostly unfiltered, relatable, and often unforgettable. They carry words of wisdom, warnings, humour, religious messages, protest, personal life experiences, and everyday philosophy, among others.</div><div></div><div></div><div>For this call, we’re sending you on a hunt.</div><div></div><div></div><div>Find a trotro inscription that speaks to you—one that makes you laugh, or pause, or fills you with questions, or makes you reflective. Take a picture of it and let your imagination and creativity do the rest.</div><div></div><div>On Theme &amp; Interpretation:</div><div></div><div>We encourage bold and thoughtful interpretations. Your piece can:</div><div>- Expand the meaning of the inscription</div><div>- Tell a story behind who wrote it and why</div><div>- Explore its social, cultural, political, philosophical or emotional significance</div><div>- Challenge or contradict its message</div><div>- Let your creativity lead—literal or abstract approaches are both welcome.</div><div>- We love writers who are not afraid to be bold and experimental. So go wild. </div><div></div><div>- Give us a breath of 'Ghanainaness' in its truest form. </div>

This is open only to Ghanaian writers.
At The CPG, we use ‘Ghanaian’ broadly and inclusively. You are welcome to submit if you:

Are a Ghanaian citizen, whether living in Ghana or abroad
Are of Ghanaian heritage or descent (including mixed heritage)
Are a non-Ghanaian who has a strong and lived connection to Ghana, for example, by being born in Ghana and living here all your life or having had a long-term residence.
2. You must be 18 years or older.

Call for Submissions - Trotro Chronicles

Ghanaian commercial vehicles, particularly trotros, are famous for their rear-view inscriptions. These inscriptions reflect the pulse of our streets and daily life. They are mostly unfiltered, relatable, and often unforgettable. They carry words of wisdom, warnings, humour, religious messages, protest, personal life experiences, and everyday philosophy, among others.<div></div><div></div><div>For this call, we’re sending you on a hunt.</div><div></div><div></div><div>Find a trotro inscription that speaks to you—one that makes you laugh, or pause, or fills you with questions, or makes you reflective. Take a picture of it and let your imagination and creativity do the rest.</div><div></div><div>On Theme &amp; Interpretation:</div><div></div><div>We encourage bold and thoughtful interpretations. Your piece can:</div><div>- Expand the meaning of the inscription</div><div>- Tell a story behind who wrote it and why</div><div>- Explore its social, cultural, political, philosophical or emotional significance</div><div>- Challenge or contradict its message</div><div>- Let your creativity lead—literal or abstract approaches are both welcome.</div><div>- We love writers who are not afraid to be bold and experimental. So go wild. </div><div></div><div>- Give us a breath of 'Ghanainaness' in its truest form. </div>

The HummingBird Journal

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