Kimbilio

Extending, Nurturing, and Sustaining a Community of Writers from the African Diaspora

Kimbilio® means “safe haven” in Swahili. We are a community of writers and scholars committed to developing, empowering and sustaining fiction writers from the African diaspora and their stories.  Projects include readings, presentations at professional conferences, social media networking, book prizes, and an annual summer retreat for fiction writers who are members of the Kimbilio community.

Kimbilio Featured Programs

Kimbilio Fellowship & Retreat

Held annually, Fellows and Faculty members gather for a week of writing, solitude, and solidarity. Kimbilio Fellows come from across the diaspora and represent a wide range of visions and voices. To date, there are over 190 Kimbilio Fellows. Our Fellows have been admitted to prestigious MFA and PhD programs, and since our inception, dozens of books have been published by Fellows, books which have been finalists for and/or awardees from PEN, Hurston/Wright, Lambda Literary, the National Book Foundation, Mann Booker, and Whiting, among many others. Fellows such as Jamel Brinkley, Rion Amilcar Scott, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Denne Michelle Norris, and Jennifer Maritza McCauley report that the Kimbilio community provided them with an invaluable boost of recognition that encouraged them in the direction of successful careers. 

Kimbilio National Fiction Prize

The Kimbilio National Fiction Prize is a collaborative project with Four Way Books open for writers of the African diaspora. Current and previous awardees include: There's Nothing Left For You Here by Allegra Solomon (2025), Mulberry Street Stories by Mary McLaughlin (2023), and Malawi's Sisters by Melanie S. Hatter (2019). 

Kimbilio Reading Series

 As part of Kimbilio’s mission to present and support fiction from diaspora writers, we regularly host readings featuring Kimbilio Faculty, Fellows, and other prominent writers. Recent events include Rob Franklin's Great Black Hope at the St. Louis County Library with Left Bank Books.