Content Guidelines
Updated April 2026
1. Enforceability of the Guidelines
By submitting or publishing content on InqWork, you agree to comply with these Content Guidelines, which form part of and should be read together with the platform’s Terms of Use.
2. Your story belongs here.
InqWork was built for African writers — aspiring voices finding their feet and established authors finding a new home. These guidelines exist for two reasons: to protect your creative voice, and to ensure InqWork remains a safe, welcoming space for every reader who walks through our doors.
InqWork operates as a hosting platform and does not pre-screen or endorse any or all content published by users.
3. What we publish
InqWork accepts original fiction and poetry in any language. We celebrate the full range of African storytelling — from Nairobi to Lagos, from Kigali to Accra, from the diaspora back to the continent. Write in English, Kiswahili, Yoruba, Zulu, French, Portuguese, Arabic, or any language your story lives in. Your language is not a barrier. It is your voice.
§ Serialized fiction Chapters should be between 1,200 and 2,000 words. Each chapter should be able to hold a reader's attention on its own — with a clear moment, a turn, or a question that makes them come back for the next one. Think of each chapter as a door that opens onto the next.
§ Short stories Between 1,500 and 5,000 words. Short stories are published as complete, standalone works. Flash fiction, lyric essays in the form of fiction, and experimental forms are welcome — if it tells a story, it has a home here.
§ Poetry All forms. All lengths. The only requirement is that it is yours.
4. What makes a great InqWork story
We are not prescriptive about genre, style, or subject matter. Write romance, thriller, literary fiction, science fiction, fantasy, folklore, coming-of-age, or something that has never been categorized before. The African story contains all of these and more.
What readers feel in every great submission:
§ A genuine voice. Readers feel the difference between a story told from the inside and one constructed from the outside. Write from where you actually are.
§ A human center. Your characters do not have to be likeable. They have to be real. Complexity, contradiction, and imperfection are not weaknesses — they are what make readers stay.
§ A story that respects its reader. Whatever you write, write it as if the person reading it is intelligent, feeling, and deserving of your full effort.
5. Content ratings
InqWork applies the content classification framework of the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) to all work published on the platform. The KFCB is Kenya's national content regulatory authority, and its ratings framework reflects considered, culturally grounded standards for content suitability across audiences.
All work submitted to InqWork must be assigned a rating by the author at the time of submission. InqWork reserves the right to review, reclassify, or remove any work where the submitted rating does not accurately reflect the content.
The KFCB ratings applied on InqWork are:
§ G — General Exhibition Suitable for all audiences with no age restriction.
§ PG — Parental Guidance Suitable for general audiences. Some content may not be suitable for younger children and parental guidance is recommended.
§ 16 — Suitable for audiences aged 16 and over Content intended for older teenage and adult readers. Not accessible to readers under 16 without verified parental consent.
§ 18 — Suitable for audiences aged 18 and over Content intended for adult readers only. Not accessible to readers under 18.
§ R18 — Restricted Content restricted to adult readers aged 18 and over in specific access contexts as defined by InqWork's platform settings.
For full details on what each rating encompasses, writers are encouraged to refer directly to the Kenya Film Classification Board guidelines at www.kfcb.go.ke.
InqWork's adoption of the KFCB framework means content decisions are guided by an established national standard — not arbitrary platform judgments. Writers who are uncertain about the appropriate rating for their work are encouraged to write to us at editor@inqwork.africa before submitting.
The KFCB ratings framework is adopted as a guiding standard for content classification. Users are responsible for ensuring that their content complies with the laws of their jurisdiction and any jurisdiction in which the content may be accessed.
6. What we do not publish — on any rating
Regardless of rating, the following content is not permitted on InqWork under any circumstances:
§ Content that sexualizes minors in any form, explicit or implied, under any creative framing whatsoever. This is an absolute prohibition with no exceptions.
§ Content that demeans, stereotypes, or dehumanizes any person, community, culture, religion, or identity.
§ Hate speech, discriminatory language, or content designed to exclude, harm, or incite violence against any group.
§ Content that uses storytelling purely as a vehicle for a single political, religious, or ideological agenda without the complexity, humanity, and balance that genuine storytelling demands — fiction may and should explore these themes, but must do so with the fullness great writing requires.
§ Graphic depictions of real, named individuals in situations that would constitute defamation, harassment, or invasion of privacy.
§ Any content that violates applicable law in the jurisdiction in which it is published or accessed.
7. Your work, your rights — and your responsibilities
Your rights
When you publish on InqWork, your work remains yours. You retain full ownership of everything you write. InqWork does not claim rights to your stories, your characters, or your words. We are a platform, not a publisher in the traditional sense — we provide the home, you own everything inside it.
By publishing on InqWork, you grant the platform a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, display, distribute and promote your content in connection with the operation and growth of the platform.
Your responsibilities
By submitting work to InqWork, you confirm and warrant the following:
§ The work is original and you are its author.
§ You hold all rights necessary to publish and distribute the work on InqWork, and it is not subject to any exclusive agreement, contract, or copyright that would prevent its publication here.
§ The work does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party.
§ The work does not contain content that is defamatory, unlawful, or in violation of any applicable law.
§ The content rating you have assigned accurately reflects the material as defined by the KFCB framework.
Where a submission is found to violate any of the above, InqWork reserves the right to remove the work immediately and without prior notice, suspend or terminate the author's account, and take such further action as is appropriate — including referral to relevant legal authorities where the violation involves illegal content.
Indemnification By publishing on InqWork, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless InqWork, its directors, employees, and agents from any claim, loss, damage, or expense — including legal fees — arising from your content or from any breach of these guidelines or warranties. InqWork accepts no liability for content published by writers on the platform.
Removed content Where content is removed for guideline violations, the author will be notified by email with the reason for removal. Content removed for legal violations or absolute prohibitions will not be reinstated. Content removed for other violations may be resubmitted once the relevant issue has been addressed, at InqWork's discretion.
8. On anonymity
You may publish under your own name or anonymously. That choice is yours and yours alone. InqWork will never reveal an author's identity without their explicit written consent, except where we are required to do so by law or valid legal process.
Note that anonymity does not exempt a writer from these guidelines or from legal responsibility for their content. The identity protections InqWork provides are a creative freedom, not a legal shield.
9. A note on the stories we celebrate
InqWork exists because the African story is the world's most underrepresented creative resource. We are here to change that — not by telling you what African stories should look like, but by making space for what they actually are.
Write the story only you can tell. The security guard. The grandmother. The child between two languages. The city at 3am. The village that remembers. The future that is already here.
We are waiting for it.