About

transition magazine art

Born in Africa and bred in the Diaspora, Transition is a unique forum for the freshest, most compelling, most curious ideas from and about the Black world. Since its founding in 1961 by the late Rajat Neogy, the first series of issues developed a reputation for tough-minded, far-reaching criticism, both cultural and political. More recent issues, including those published under the aegis of the W.E.B Du Bois Institute and now the Hutchins Center, carry on that tradition.

History of Transition Magazine

Transition was founded in 1961 in Uganda as an East African literary magazine. The brainchild of a twenty-two year old writer of Indian descent named Rajat Neogy, it quickly became Africa’s leading intellectual magazine during a time of radical changes across the continent.

Issue 1 cover
Enyeribe Ibegwam

Awards

Enyeribe Ibegwam Wins Fourth Annual Chautauqua Janus Prize

Nigerian writer Enyeribe Ibegwam won the 2021 Chautauqua Janus Prize for his short story “After School Hours,” which appeared in Transition 131.

News

Maryse Condé To Give Inaugural Rajat Neogy Memorial Lecture

Transition Magazine, one of the world’s leading journals of African and African Diasporic politics and culture, will host the famed novelist, playwright, and critic, Maryse Condé, as its inaugural Rajat Neogy Memorial Lecturer on April 19th, 2023 on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  

Photo by Marcus Halevi

Call for Submissions

Transition aims to speak to the lay intellectual through jargon-free, readable prose that provides both insight and pleasure.