{{short description|Kenyan writer, editor and lawyer (born 1993)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}} {{Infobox person | name = Troy Onyango | image = Troy Onyango.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Onyango in 2015 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1993}} | birth_place = Kisumu, Kenya | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|df=y|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (date of death first) --> | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = {{plainlist| *Writer *Lawyer}} | spouse = | alma_mater = University of East Anglia<br/>University of Nairobi | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = | website = {{URL|troyonyango.com}} }}
'''Troy Onyango''' (born 1993) is a Kenyan writer, editor and lawyer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://troyonyango.com/about/|title=About|website=Troy Onyango|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-04-28}}</ref> His work has appeared in journals and magazines including ''Prairie Schooner'', ''Wasafiri'', ''Caine Prize Anthology'',<ref>The Caine Prize For African Writing 2018 https://newint.org/books/fiction/caine-prize-2018/</ref> ''Brittle Paper'', and ''Transition Magazine'' issue 121, for which his short story "The Transfiguration" was nominated for the Pushcart Prize.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/artculture/BY-THE-BOOK-Troy-Onyango-/1954194-4207690-5en0wpz/index.html|title = BY THE BOOK: Troy Onyango| date=2 July 2020 }}</ref> His short story "For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings" won the fiction prize for the inaugural Nyanza Literary Festival (NALIF) Prize.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/mynetwork/TAKE-5-with-Troy-Onyango/3141096-3398928-rb4gvg/index.html|title = TAKE 5 with Troy Onyango| date=5 July 2020 }}</ref>
==Life and career== Troy Onyango was born and grew up in Kisumu, an inland port city along the shores of Lake Victoria in Western Kenya. He attended the University of Nairobi, where he studied law. He obtained an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia where he was a recipient of the Miles Morland Foundation Writing Scholarship.
In 2016, he won the inaugural Nyanza Literary Festival (NALIF) Prize<ref>Doctor and law student win in inaugural writing prize in Nyanza https://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/weekend/Doctor-and-law-student-win-in-inaugural-writing-prize-in-Nyanza/1220-3367406-format-xhtml-thpp3kz/index.html</ref> for his short story "For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings". In the same year, his short story "The Transfiguration", which follows the life of a transgender character who struggles to navigate Nairobi, was nominated for the Pushcart Prize by ''Transition Magazine''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-11-14 |title=Pushcart Prize 2016 nominations: Panashe Chigumadzi and Troy Onyango |url=http://www.jamesmurua.com/pushcart-prize-2016-nominations-panashe-chigumadzi-nneoma-ike-njoku-troy-onyango/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114142907/http://www.jamesmurua.com/pushcart-prize-2016-nominations-panashe-chigumadzi-nneoma-ike-njoku-troy-onyango/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=2016-11-14 |access-date=2025-04-15 }}</ref> He was also shortlisted for the Miles Morland Foundation Scholarship in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=Morland Writing Scholarship – 2016 Shortlist|url=https://milesmorlandfoundation.com/morland-writing-scholarship-2016-shortlist/}}</ref> He attended the May/June 2018 Ebedi International Writers' Residency in Iseyin, Oyo State, Nigeria,<ref>{{Cite news|title=Ebedi Residency: Iseyin hosts three writers|url=https://punchng.com/residency-iseyin-hosts-three-writers/|newspaper=The Punch|first=Taiwo |last=Ojoye|date=30 May 2018}}</ref> In 2018, Onyango was listed among the 21 Best African Writers of the New Generation by ''Woke Africa''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-08-15 |title=Woke Africa’s Choice: 21 Best African Writers of the New Generation |url=https://www.wokeafrica.com/2018/03/27/woke-africas-choice-21-best-african-writers-of-the-new-generation/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815120813/https://www.wokeafrica.com/2018/03/27/woke-africas-choice-21-best-african-writers-of-the-new-generation/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2018-08-15 |access-date=2025-04-15 }}</ref>
Onyango is the founder and editor of ''Lolwe'', an online magazine that publishes fiction, literary criticism, personal essays, photography, and poetry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lolwe.org/about/|title=About|last=Troy|website=Lolwe|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-26}}</ref> He is also the editor of ''Panorama: The Journal of Intelligent Travel'', a British literary journal with a modern focus on travel literature, art, and photography.<ref>East Africa Print Edition – Panorama: The Journal of Intelligent Travel http://www.panoramajournal.org/east-africa-print-edition/</ref>
==Works==
=== Short stories ===
*"All Things Bright & Beautiful" in ''Caine Prize Anthology'' (2018) *"Little Daju" in ''AFREADA'' *"Wet Ash" in ''Ebedi Review'' *"For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings?" *"The Transfiguration" in ''Transition Magazine''<ref>With these prizes, the future of writing in Africa is in safe hands https://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/weekend/WANNER-the-future-of-writing-in-Africa-is-in-safe-hands/1220-3449440-rrsi1sz/</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.troyonyango.com/ Troy Onyango] official website
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Onyango, Troy}} Category:1993 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century Kenyan writers Category:Alumni of the University of East Anglia Category:Kenyan Luo people Category:Kenyan male writers Category:Kenyan writers Category:People from Kisumu County Category:University of Nairobi alumni