It is a strange experience, revisiting an anthology so many years after its initial release, especially one that has been as transformative as Will This Be A Problem?. The shape and direction of this project have shifted so profoundly over the years that it feels, at times, as though its evolution has reached backwards, altering what came before. A recontextualisation, where the past refracts differently when viewed through the prism of what we’ve become.
When Will This Be A Problem? began with Issue I in 2014, it was a burst of raw enthusiasm and boundless energy, a wild, feverish experiment in speculative fiction. We wanted to create something that filled a void—fans of fantasy, science fiction and horror who wanted to see more African worlds and hear more African voices in this genre and decided to do it themselves. It was a passion project in the truest sense, built on the excitement of seeing what could happen when like-minded storytellers came together.
Issue II followed a year later, carrying forward that initial fervor but introducing, for the first time, a question that would linger: What do we want this to be? In our ambition to push the boundaries, we expanded beyond speculative fiction, curating stories from other genres. The experiment was rewarding in its way, but it also highlighted a deeper challenge. Without a clear focus, the anthology began to feel untethered. What was Will This Be A Problem?, at its core? The answer to that question wasn’t clear—at least, not yet.
That realization led to a long pause. Issue III wouldn’t arrive until 2017, after years of false starts and re-evaluation. It wasn’t because we lacked stories or ideas but because we needed clarity. What we came to understand in those intervening years was simple, but essential: our heart, our sharpest voice, lay in speculative fiction. That was our passion, the thread that tied us together as editors, writers, and readers. And without it, WTBAP? risked losing the spark that had defined it from the beginning.
By the time we returned to the drawing board for Issue III, the lesson was clear. To grow, we had to double down—not dilute. That issue became a turning point, both for our content and our identity. We widened our reach geographically, featuring voices from across the African continent, yet we honed our thematic focus, returning unapologetically to speculative fiction. It was a necessary course correction, a reassertion of what WTBAP? had always meant to be.
But even as we moved forward, Issue II remained a bit of an anomaly. We were proud of the work it contained—every story a vital part of our journey—but its eclectic nature often invited questions. If this was a speculative fiction journal, why so many non-speculative stories in that issue? Over time, it became clear that the best way to honor both the integrity of the anthology and the stories themselves was to present Issue II in a new form.
This ebook reissue represents that reflection. It includes only the speculative fiction stories from Issue II, bringing a sense of harmony and consistency to the larger body of work. That being said, the non speculative fiction stories will remain on the website in respect of the original anthology’s role in our evolution. These stories are not artifacts of experimentation; they are the roots of what Will This Be A Problem? would become. They form a bridge between the excitement of our beginnings and the sharper, more defined vision we hold today.
As you read, know this: the spirit of Will This Be A Problem? remains what it has always been—a celebration of imagination, curiosity, and the boundless possibilities of speculative fiction. And we’re just getting started.
Kevin Rigathi
Kevin Rigathi is a Kenyan speculative fiction writer based in Nairobi. Over the years, a near addiction for creating things has seen him don multiple hats as a writer, digital artist, software developer, sound editor and podcaster. His stories include ‘Where The Gods Go" and ‘A War of Harmony.’ Additionally, he serves as the writer and host of the Kenyan history podcast, "The Kenyan Experiment."