The Heart of the Matter is the third collection of shortlisted entries submitted for the Gerald Kraak Anthology and Award. This year's anthology is filled with inspiring and fearless literary works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry from across Africa.These stories capture the essence of the African LGBTQI+ community and showcase some of Africa's most talented writers. The anthology gives a voice to those who would otherwise be marginalised and it insists that differences must be recognised, embraced and celebrated.The Gerald Kraak Anthology and Award is a joint initiative between the Other Foundation and the Jacana Literary Foundation. ABOUT THE JUDGES:Sisonke Msimang is the author of Always Another Country: A Memoir of Exile and Home, and a writer and storyteller whose work appears regularly in the New York Times, The Guardian, Newsweek and a range of other international publications.Professor Sylvia Tamale is a leading African feminist who teaches law at Makerere University in Uganda. Her research interests include gender, law and sexuality, women in politics and feminist jurisprudence.Mark Gevisser, one of South Africa's leading authors and journalists, has had a plethora of books and articles published. These include Defiant Desire: Gay and Lesbian Lives in South Africa (1994), Portraits of Power: Profiles in a Changing South Africa (1996), Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred and Lost and Found in Johannesburg: A Memoir (2012).Otosirieze Obi-Young, writer, editor and literary journalist, is Deputy Editor of the African literary culture website Brittle Paper. He is an editor at 14, Nigeria's first queer art collective which has published two volumes, We Are Flowers and The Inward Gaze.