Matatu (journal)

Matatu: Journal for African Literary and Cultural Studies is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal published by Brill Publishers. It focusses on African literary and cultural studies. The journal's name derives from the East African public transport vehicle "Matatu".^[1]

The editors-in-chief are Tanaka Chidora (University of Malawi), Pauline Mateveke Kazembe (University of Zimbabwe), Magdalena Pfalzgraf (University of Bonn), Aderemi Raji-Oyelade (University of Ibadan), Frank Schulze–Engler (Goethe University Frankfurt), and Alex Nelungo Wanjala (University of Nairobi).

Originally, the journal was self-published by founding editor Holger Ehling and later published by Éditions Rodopi. It then was converted to a book series, with, amongst others, Gordon Collier, Geoffrey V. Davis†, Aderemi Raji-Oyelade, and Frank Schulze-Engler as series editors. In 2016, after Éditions Rodopi was acquired by Brill Publishers, the journal again became a periodical, initially subtitled Journal for African Culture and Society.^[2] Since then, the editorial team was expanded and subsequently the subtitle was changed to underline the journal's contributions to literary studies and since 2025 it is subtitled Journal for African Literary and Cultural Studies.

The journal is abstracted and indexed in International Bibliography of Periodical Literature,^[3] Modern Language Association Database,^[3] and Scopus.^[4]

• Official website