Troy Onyango and other African writers were motivated to create new African literary journals because they found that so few publications were dedicated to publishing black artists and writers. Not only was it hard to get published as black (and particularly African) writers, but also they wanted to put their countries onto the literary map and expand cultural understanding. The challenges include making enough money to survive as a publication and high staff turnover. But despite the challenges, these trailblazers are putting in the work in the "literary marathon."