A literary and cultural journal dedicated to building a vibrant archive of literature, language, and lived experience.

Yarnz is a literary and cultural magazine rooted in West African life, language, and imagination. 

As a publication, we are seeking work from talented visual artists and writers. 

We’re looking for works that challenge well-established ideas—writing that makes us pause after each paragraph to reflect, and work that helps us see old patterns through a new lens. 


We welcome work from Africans at home and in the Diaspora. This also includes Afro/Euro people of African origin.

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Yarnz Magazine

We’re especially interested in ideas that are fresh and surprising. We welcome pitches from all voices, including those who may not consider themselves writers but have something meaningful to say. 

Countries; what does Black joy means and new definitions of this; positive representations of West African heritage; West Africans in the diaspora; meta-fictional address of societal issues and ailings in the region; engagement with consumerism and western institutions; works that send a message and shows depth of research; historical timelines represented in fiction; fluid and confident mixed use of English and pidgin and other WA languages

Short stories, literary or experimental fiction with strong voice and rooted settings.


Send submissions to fiction@yarnzmag.com

Issue 2 (Fiction)

We’re especially interested in ideas that are fresh and surprising. We welcome pitches from all voices, including those who may not consider themselves writers but have something meaningful to say. 

Cultural, social, and political essays. Well-structured cultural and social commentary, and analysis (afrobeats, literature, movies, etc.). Reported features are also welcome. There's no word count!<div><br></div><div>We’re generally interested in essays that offer new and interesting ideas</div><div><br></div><div>We like works that offer an historical angle to a current problem or phenomenon</div><div><br></div><div>We’re a fan of essays that explore topics that aren’t popular</div><div><br></div><div>We welcome personal essays that do not veer into obsessive self-awareness</div><div><br></div><div>We value essays that explore African metaphors, music, memory, movement, imagination, and meaning-making.

Pitch us at pitches@yarnzmag.com</div>

Issue 2 (Nonfiction)

We’re especially interested in ideas that are fresh and surprising. We welcome pitches from all voices, including those who may not consider themselves writers but have something meaningful to say.

We’re interested in explorations of cultural identity; works steeped in the essence of West African languages; what it means to exist and live in these areas; poems on seeing from a West African lens; poems that pay homage to tradition, forgotten cultural practices and West African gods; renaming the divine in this part of the world; works that explore what it means to write in other West African languages; West African poetry translations.

1 -  3 poems per submission
Send submissions to poetry@yarnzmag.com<br>

Issue 2 (Poetry)

We’re especially interested in ideas that are fresh and surprising. We welcome pitches from all voices, including those who may not consider themselves writers but have something meaningful to say.

High-resolution images (4-10), accompanied by a short artist statement or narrative (150–500 words)<div><br></div><div>We love pieces that are cohesive: your collection should tell a story</div><div><br></div><div>Your work doesn't have to be political, but it should fit within a broader societal context</div><div><br></div><div>Satirical works are welcome. Art for art’s sake isn't welcome</div><div><br></div><div>Send submissions to art@yarnzmag.com</div>

Yarnz Magazine

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