South African Writer Nadia Davids wins the 2024 Caine Prize for African Writing

17 SEPTEMBER 2024, LONDON UK – The Caine Prize for African Writing is delighted to announce that South African writer Nadia Davids has been awarded the 2024 Caine Prize for African Writing for her outstanding short story, Bridling, published in The Georgia Review in 2023. 

This year’s competition witnessed a record-breaking number of submissions, with 320 entries spanning 28 African countries vying for the coveted prize, while also marking a significant milestone in the Caine Prize’s history as it enters its 25th year. 

Speaking of the winning story, award winning author Chika Unigwe (Chair of Judges) said: “Bridling is an impressive achievement, a triumph of language, storytelling and risk-taking while maintaining a tightly controlled narrative about women who rebel. It embodies the spirit of the Caine Prize, which is to celebrate the richness and diversity of short stories by African writers. That is to say, to challenge the single story of African literature.”

Nadia Davids joins the esteemed rank of previous winners, including Senegalese writers Mame Bougouma Diene & Woppa Diallo (2023), Kenyan writer Idza Luhumyo (2022), Ethiopian-American writer Meron Hadero (2021), and Nigerian-British writer Irenosen Okjie (2020). 

This year's judging panel comprised poet, artist and filmmaker Julianknxx; writer, scholar and filmmaker Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu; Hip-Hop artist Tumi Molekane aka Stogie T; and novelist Ayesha Harruna Attah. 

Nadia Davids will receive the prestigious £10,000 Caine Prize, in addition to having her work featured in the 2024 Caine Prize Anthology, Midnight In the Morgue and Other Stories published by Cassava Republic Press. Runners-up Tryphena Yeboah, Samuel Kolawole, Uche Okonkwo and Pemi Aguda will receive a prize of £500 and also feature in the 2024 Caine Prize Anthology. The 2024 anthology will also include stories from this year’s workshop held in Salima, Malawi. 

The Caine Prize for African Writing has played a pivotal role in shaping the careers of African writers for nearly 25 years, offering unmatched global visibility and opportunities, including publishing deals and writing fellowships. Commenting on this year’s award, Ellah Wakatama OBE, Chair of The Caine Prize Board of Trustees, expressed “I was delighted by the range and ambition of this year's shortlisted stories. It is especially pleasing to see writers many will recognise and to introduce new voices. As we enter into our 25th year, it’s wonderful to have such a strong shortlist and formidable Nadia Davids as our winner.”

Joining Nadia Davids on this year’s shortlist were: 

• Tryphena Yeboah (Ghana) for ‘The Dishwashing Women’, Narrative Magazine (Fall 2022)

• Samuel Kolawole (Nigeria) for ‘Adjustment of Status’, New England Review, Vol. 44, #3 (Summer 2023)

• Uche Okonkwo (Nigeria) for ‘Animals’, ZYZZYVA (2024)

• Pemi Aguda (Nigeria) for ‘Breastmilk’, One Story, Issue #227 (2021)

ENDS

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NOTES TO EDITOR

THE CAINE PRIZE

The Caine Prize for African Writing is a registered charity whose aim is to bring African writing to a wider audience using their annual literary award. In addition to administering the Prize, the charity works to connect readers with African writers through a series of public events, as well as helping emerging writers in Africa to enter the world of mainstream publishing through the annual Caine Prize writers’ workshop which takes place in a different African country each year.

The stories written at Caine Prize workshops are published annually alongside the Prize's shortlisted stories in the annual Caine Prize Anthology by Cassava Republic Press in the UK and publishers on the African continent. 

It is named after the late Sir Michael Caine, former Chairman of Booker plc, who was Chairman of the 'Africa 95' arts festival in Europe and Africa in 1995 and for nearly 25 years Chairman of the Booker Prize management committee. After his death, friends and colleagues decided to establish a prize of £10,000 to be awarded annually in his memory.

WINNER’S BIO

NADIA DAVIDS

Nadia Davids is a South African writer, theater-maker and scholar. Her plays (At Her Feet, What Remains, Hold Still) have been staged throughout Southern Africa and in Europe. Her debut novel An Imperfect Blessing was shortlisted for Pan-African Etisalat Prize for Literature. Nadia’s short fiction and essays have appeared in The American Scholar, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Astra Magazine, The Georgia Review, the Johannesburg Review of Books and Zyzzyva Magazine. She’s held residencies at Hedgebrook, Art Omi and The Women’s Project, and was a 2023 Aspen Words Writer. Nadia has taught at Queen Mary University of London and the University of Cape Town and is the President Emeritus of PEN South Africa.

JUDGES’ BIO

CHIKA UNIGWE

Chika Unigwe serves as a creative writing professor at Georgia State College and University in Milledgeville, Georgia. She is a prolific writer of both fiction and nonfiction, whose works have been translated into several languages.  Her notable works include the award-winning novel On Black Sisters' Street and the short-story collection Better Never Than Late. Her latest novel, The Middle Daughter, is published by Canongate Books. In 2023, Unigwe was knighted into the Order of the Crown by the Belgian government in recognition of her contributions to literature.

SIPHIWE GLORIA NDLOVU

Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu is a Zimbabwean writer, scholar and filmmaker. She is the author of the critically-acclaimed and award-winning novels, The Theory of Flight (2018), The History of Man (2020) and The Quality of Mercy (2022) published in southern Africa by Penguin Random House and in North America by Catalyst Press. Her fourth novel, The Creation of Half-Broken People, will be published by Picador Africa and House of Anansi in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Ndlovu holds a PhD in Modern Thought and Literature from Stanford University. She has an MA in African Studies and an MFA in Film from Ohio University. Her short film, Graffiti, won several awards including the Silver Dhow at the Zanzibar International Film Festival. She received her BFA in Writing, Literature and Publishing from Emerson College. She is a 2018 Morland Scholar and a 2022 recipient of the Windham-Campbell Prize. 

JULIANKNXX

Julianknxx  is a Sierra Leonean poet, artist and filmmaker based in London, UK. His work has been shown at galleries and museums worldwide, with his acclaimed first institutional solo show ‘Chorus In Rememory of Flight’ at the Barbican, London (2023), called ‘transcendent and poignant’ by the Evening Standard. Shortlisted for the Jarman Award in 2023, his recent group shows include ‘A World in Common’ at Tate Modern, London (2023); ‘Rites of Passage’ at Gagosian, London (2023); and ‘To Be Held’ at Carl Freedman Gallery, Margate (2023). Previous participations include Whitechapel Gallery Open, London (2022); Nocturnal Creatures at Whitechapel Gallery (2021); Lux at 180 The Strand, London (2021) and The View from There at Sadie Coles HQ, London (2021).

TUMI MOLEKANE 

Tumi Molekane aka Stogie T, is a South African Hip-Hop artist, bold and unconventional lyricist, pragmatic thinker and observer. Known for writing in caveats, his work strikes a delicate balance between different worlds and forms a nuanced narrative of the country and continent as a whole. His works both critique power and its innate tendency to corrupt, while also dissecting the nightmares of Joburg’s underworld with striking imagery. A contemporary voice of the people and enigmatic storyteller, Molekane has appeared on Sway In The Morning in 2018, among other shows. His songs include ‘Sub City’ from his self-titled 2016 album and ‘Broke People’ from 2015’s Return of the King.

AYESHA HARRUNA ATTAH

Ayesha Harruna Attah is the author of five novels, including the Commonwealth Prize-nominated Harmattan Rain,  William Saroyan Prize finalist The Hundred Wells of Salaga, and The Deep Blue Between. She was educated at Mount Holyoke College, Columbia University, and New York University. She is the 2023-2024 Literature Protégée for the Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative and is being mentored by Bernardine Evaristo. Attah currently lives in Senegal.

The Caine Prize for African Writing announces its 2024 Shortlist

[London, UK] – The Caine Prize for African Writing, an esteemed annual award honouring outstanding African writers, is pleased to announce the shortlist for the 2024 edition. The five shortlisted stories were carefully selected from a pool of 320 entries originating from 28 African countries.

The shortlisted writers for the 2024 Caine Prize for African Writing are:

1. Tryphena Yeboah (Ghana) for ‘The Dishwashing Women’, Narrative Magazine (Fall 2022)

2. Nadia Davids (South Africa) for ‘Bridling’, The Georgia Review (2023)

3. Samuel Kolawole (Nigeria) for ‘Adjustment of Status’, New England Review, Vol. 44, #3 (Summer 2023)

4. Uche Okonkwo (Nigeria) for ‘Animals’, ZYZZYVA (2024)

5. Pemi Aguda (Nigeria) for ‘Breastmilk’, One Story, Issue #227 (2021)

This year's submissions encompassed a diverse range of talent from 28 different countries, including South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda, Ethiopia, Namibia, Morocco, Gambia, Senegal, Eritrea, Malawi, Liberia, Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, South Sudan, Mauritius, Ethiopia, Libya, Algeria and Cameroon.

Chika Unigwe, Chair of Judges, expressed her thoughts on the shortlist: “The judging process was both challenging and rewarding. We read over 200 eligible stories, uncovering many gems from both familiar and new writers. Our discussions were passionate, and when we reached our (unofficial) longlist, we wished we could have included every story. Our consolation is knowing that these works are out in the world, being read, recognized with other prizes, and receiving the attention they deserve.

“The shortlist and the honorable mention (Zimbabwe’s Yvette Ndlovu), span four countries and include writers at various stages of their promising careers. These stories, ranging from speculative to  realistic, cover diverse subject matters but share a common thread: they are compelling, universal human stories. They offer insights into our societies, governments, cultures, and the broader world, ultimately posing the fundamental question that all great art asks: How do we navigate life? They explore this question with empathy, thoughtfulness, humor, and prose that is both sublime and accessible.

“So, how do we navigate life? In these stories, we do so with regrets, survival, performance, resistance, and ultimately, living. Throughout, we strive to be seen. We are incredibly proud of this outstanding shortlist and our honorable mention. Congratulations to all the writers!”

Tom Jenks, Editor of Narrative Magazine commented: “Talent has a way of announcing itself.  From the first stories and essays we read by Tryphena Yeboah, we recognized immediately her unique talent and voice, the scope of her ambition, and the wisdom and grace she offers her readers.  With great-heartedness, Yeboah’s stories and essays bring an intense, nuanced focus onto the fraught roles and relationships that occur when the known world narrows and grows inimical despite one’s best intentions and desires. Yeboah traverses a previously unexplored land of tribal prejudices and taboos in her native Ghana and honors the personal and historical grief of immigrant families, the generational scars of racism, the joys and complexities of familial love, and the abiding belief that literature can carry us across troubled waters—toward recognition of our shared humanity.”

Gerald Maa, Editor and Director of The Georgia Review said: "What an honor to be shortlisted for such a prestigious, longstanding prize.  I make sure to check out the authors honored by the Caine Prize every year, and I'm thrilled that The Georgia Review will be part of that mix this year." 

Carolyn Kuebler, Editor of New England Review, publisher of ‘Adjustment of Status’, added:  “Kolawole’s story of a Nigerian man’s grueling work in an American morgue reveals the human cost of illegal immigration and the deceptive allure of the West. It’s both potent and understated as it chronicles this man’s deep loneliness and unbearable shame.”

John McMurtrie, Senior Editor at ZYZZYVA was excited at a first Caine shortlisted story for the journal: "We at ZYZZYVA are thrilled that Uche Okonkwo's story 'Animals' has been shortlisted for this year's Caine Prize for African Writing. Uche's writing beautifully captures the rhythms of daily life. She does so with gentle humor and understated grace. We couldn't be more proud of Uche. And we're proud to help celebrate her talents, sharing a distinct African voice with a broader readership."

Will Allison, Contributing Editor at One Story remarked: “I was drawn to ‘Breastmilk’ by the raw honesty of the voice and by the story’s vivid rendering of the early days of parenthood. The protagonists’ fear is one that all parents will recognize—the fear of failing one’s child. It’s a fraught, heart-wrenching situation that Pemi Aguda explores with tremendous depth of feeling in pitch-perfect prose.”

This year marks 24 years since Leila Aboulela was announced as the winner of the inaugural Prize at a small gathering at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, followed a few days later by an official award ceremony and dinner in Zimbabwe. 

Over the years, the format of the announcement and award ceremony has changed several times, and this year the Caine Prize is adjusting it once again to re-centre the announcement on the African continent. This will allow the Prize to integrate this year’s shortlisted writers and judges into the year-long celebration of our 25th anniversary in 2025.

The format of this year’s announcement will be as follows:

• The winner will be announced on 17th September via a pre-recorded address. 

• There will be no immediate ceremony; instead, the shortlisted writers will be integrated into the Caine Prize’s 25th anniversary celebrations, participating in a ‘meet the writers’ event, and appearing alongside past winners and shortlisted writers in readings and discussions held at partner institutions. Celebrations will include tribute events for writers such as Charles Mungoshi (Zimbabwe) and Binyavanga Wainana (Kenya), whom we have lost since they won or were shortlisted for the Prize. 

• All of the shortlisted stories will be published in The Caine Prize Anthology alongside stories written at the Caine Prize Workshop, held this year in Malawi.

Full details of plans for the year-long, multi-country 25th anniversary celebrations will be released at a later date.

Ellah Wakatama OBE, Chair of The Caine Prize Board of Trustees, expressed her thoughts on this year’s award: “As Chair, I look forward to using the 2024 Prize as an opportunity to amplify my publishing colleagues’ efforts to highlight Africa’s rich writing history and showcasing the best of Africa’s new voices. I hope that this year’s format will spark wide curiosity and interest in past and contemporary literature from the country that birthed and influenced this year’s winner.  This fresh approach also ties in with our goal of hosting more events on the continent during our 25th Anniversary celebrations. For 24 years the Prize has helped bring African writers to the literary world stage. We are now taking the world to Africa and its writers. We welcome your encouragement, support, and commitment as we boldly move forward.”

The Caine Prize for African Writing celebrates the richness and diversity of African literature and recognizes outstanding achievements in African storytelling.

 Shortlisted Writers’ Bios: 

• Tryphena Yeboah is a Ghanaian writer and the author of the poetry chapbook, A Mouthful of Home (Akashic Books). Her fiction and essays have appeared in Narrative Magazine, Commonwealth Writers, and Lit Hub, among others. She is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, studying English with an emphasis in Creative Writing.

• Nadia Davids is a South African writer, theatre-maker and scholar. Her plays (At Her Feet, What Remains, Hold Still) have been staged throughout Southern Africa and in Europe. Her debut novel An Imperfect Blessing was shortlisted for Pan-African Etisalat Prize for Literature. Nadia’s short fiction and essays have appeared in The American Scholar, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Astra Magazine, The Georgia Review, the Johannesburg Review of Books and Zyzzyva Magazine. She’s held residencies at Hedgebrook, Art Omi and The Women’s Project, and was a 2023 Aspen Words Writer. Nadia has taught at Queen Mary University of London and the University of Cape Town and is the President Emeritus of PEN South Africa.

• Samuel Kọ́láwọlé was born and raised in Ibadan, Nigeria. He is the author of a new, critically acclaimed novel, The Road to the Salt Sea. His work has appeared in AGNI, New England Review, Georgia Review, The Hopkins Review, Gulf Coast, Washington Square Review, Harvard Review, Image Journal, and other literary publications. He has received numerous residencies and fellowships and has been a finalist for the Graywolf Press Africa Prize, International Book Award, and shortlisted for UK’s The First Novel Prize, and won an Editor-Writer Mentorship Program for Diverse Writers. He is a graduate of the MFA in Writing and Publishing at Vermont College of Fine Arts; and earned his PhD in English and Creative Writing from Georgia State University. He has taught creative writing in Africa, Sweden, and the United States, and currently teaches fiction writing as an Assistant Professor of English and African Studies at Pennsylvania State University.

• Uche Okonkwo’s stories have been published in A Public Space, One Story, the Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2019, and Lagos Noir, among others. She is the author of the debut story collection A Kind of Madness: Tin House (2024); Narrative Landscape (2024); and VERVE Books (2025). A former Bernard O’Keefe Scholar at Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and resident at Art Omi, she is a recipient of the George Bennett Fellowship at Phillips Exeter Academy, a Steinbeck Fellowship, and an Elizabeth George Foundation grant. Okonkwo grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, and is currently pursuing a creative writing PhD at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

• Pemi Aguda is an MFA graduate from the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan and the winner of the 2020 Deborah Rogers Foundation Award. Her writing has been published in One Story, Granta, Ploughshares, American Short Fiction, Zoetrope, and other publications, and has been awarded the O. Henry Prize for short fiction in 2022 and 2023. She is the author of a collection of stories, Ghostroots (W.W. Norton, 2024; Virago Press, 2024; and Masobe Books, 2024). Pemi is from Lagos, Nigeria.

-Ends

Notes to Editors

Media Contact: comms@caineprize.com

Press Package: Access via Dropbox here

The Caine Prize for African Writing announces its 2024 Judges

[London, UK] The Caine Prize for African Writing has announced its panel of Judges for 2024. Entries to the Prize close at midnight on 19th April 2024. The five shortlisted stories and their authors will be announced in mid-July; the winner will be announced at an award ceremony in September. 

This year’s Chair of Judges is award-winning Nigerian author Chika Unigwe. Unigwe serves as a creative writing professor at Georgia State College and University in Milledgeville, Georgia. She is a prolific writer of both fiction and nonfiction, whose works have been translated into several languages.  Her notable works include the award-winning novel On Black Sisters' Street and the short-story collection Better Never Than Late. Her latest novel, The Middle Daughter, is published by Canongate Books. In 2023, Unigwe was knighted into the Order of the Crown by the Belgian government in recognition of her contributions to literature.

Unigwe is joined on the panel by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, a Zimbabwean writer, scholar and filmmaker. She is the author of the critically-acclaimed and award-winning novels, The Theory of Flight (2018), The History of Man (2020) and The Quality of Mercy (2022) published in southern Africa by Penguin Random House and in North America by Catalyst Press. Her fourth novel, The Creation of Half-Broken People, will be published by Picador Africa and House of Anansi in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Ndlovu holds a PhD in Modern Thought and Literature from Stanford University. She has an MA in African Studies and an MFA in Film from Ohio University. Her short film, Graffiti, won several awards including the Silver Dhow at the Zanzibar International Film Festival. She received her BFA in Writing, Literature and Publishing from Emerson College. She is a 2018 Morland Scholar and a 2022 recipient of the Windham-Campbell Prize;

Julianknxx, is a Sierra Leonean poet, artist and filmmaker based in London, UK. His work has been shown at galleries and museums worldwide, with his acclaimed first institutional solo show ‘Chorus In Rememory of Flight’ at the Barbican, London (2023), called ‘transcendent and poignant’ by the Evening Standard. Shortlisted for the Jarman Award in 2023, his recent group shows include ‘A World in Common’ at Tate Modern, London (2023); ‘Rites of Passage’ at Gagosian, London (2023); and ‘To Be Held’ at Carl Freedman Gallery, Margate (2023). Previous participations include Whitechapel Gallery Open, London (2022); Nocturnal Creatures at Whitechapel Gallery (2021); Lux at 180 The Strand, London (2021) and The View from There at Sadie Coles HQ, London (2021);

Tumi Molekane, aka Stogie T, is a South African Hip-Hop artist, bold and unconventional lyricist, pragmatic thinker and observer. Known for writing in caveats, his work strikes a delicate balance between different worlds and forms a nuanced narrative of the country and continent as a whole. His works both critique power and its innate tendency to corrupt, while also dissecting the nightmares of Joburg’s underworld with striking imagery. A contemporary voice of the people and enigmatic storyteller, Molekane has appeared on Sway In The Morning in 2018, among other shows. His songs include ‘Sub City’ from his self-titled 2016 album and ‘Broke People’ from 2015’s Return of the King;

Ayesha Harruna Attah, is the author of five novels, including the Commonwealth Prize-nominated Harmattan Rain,  William Saroyan Prize finalist The Hundred Wells of Salaga, and The Deep Blue Between. She was educated at Mount Holyoke College, Columbia University, and New York University. She is the 2023-2024 Literature Protégée for the Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative and is being mentored by Bernardine Evaristo. Attah currently lives in Senegal.

Commenting on this year’s panel, Chika Unigwe, Chair of Judges, said: “I am deeply honored to be judging this year's Caine Prize alongside an impressively distinguished group of creatives, some of whom I have admired for years. African writing is in a good place, and so we are certain that we will be seeing stories we will want to read, re-read, and then tell everyone else to go read. 

As a huge admirer of the Caine Prize, having followed it since the inaugural prize was awarded to Leila Aboulela in 2000, I have been perplexed by the recent misconception that the prize is only for emerging writers. It is not. Its unequivocal ambition is to identify the best short story by an African writer in a given period. So, dear publishers, send in the most audacious, the boldest, the most unforgettable short story by an African writer you've published in the five years preceding the deadline, regardless of the writer's career stage. We are looking forward to reading them all.”

Interim Director of the Prize, Vimbai Shire echoed Unigwe’s sentiment, saying: “Thinking ahead to the Caine Prize shortlist, it's the relentless pursuit of quality and the commitment to elevating storytelling to its highest level that ignites my enthusiasm and I’m delighted by the composition and focus of this year’s panel.  

I’m particularly thrilled by the diverse array of specialisms represented by the judges – each member is acclaimed in their respective fields and brings a unique perspective and expertise to the table.  Together they will bring their rich tapestry of voices, their passion and their own experiences of storytelling to the judging process and I’m excited to see which stories will capture their hearts – and ours!”

The judges will meet in person in September to select a winner from the five shortlisted authors, and announce the winner in an award ceremony held in London in September 2024.

Each writer shortlisted for the Caine Prize will be awarded £500, and the winner will receive a £10,000 prize. If a work in translation is chosen as the winning story, the prize will be shared between the author and the translator.

The five shortlisted stories will be compiled into the official Caine Prize anthology and published by Cassava Republic Press and a variety of international publishers around the world.

-Ends 

Notes to Editors

Media Contact: comms@caineprize.com 

Press package: Access via Dropbox here

About The Caine Prize for African Writing 

The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual award for African creative writing. The Prize is awarded for a short story by an African writer published in English (indicative length 3,000 to 10,000 words). The Caine Prize for African Writing is named after the late Sir Michael Caine, former Chairman of Booker plc and Chairman of the Booker Prize management committee for nearly 25 years. The African winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Wole Soyinka and J M Coetzee, are Patrons of The Caine Prize. Ellah Wakatama OBE is the Chair; Vimbai Shire is the Interim Director of the Prize. 

An African writer is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, or who is a national of an African country, or who has a parent who is African by birth or nationality. Works translated into English from other languages are not excluded, provided they have been published in translation, and should such a work win, a proportion of the prize would be awarded to the translator.

Previous winners are Sudan’s Leila Aboulela (2000), Nigerian, Helon Habila  (2001), Kenyan, Binyavanga Wainaina (2002), Kenyan, Yvonne Owuor (2003),  Zimbabwean, Brian  Chikwava (2004), Nigerian, Segun Afolabi (2005), South African, Mary  Watson (2006), Ugandan, Monica Arac de Nyeko (2007), South African, Henrietta Rose-Innes (2008), Nigerian, EC Osondu (2009), Sierra Leonean, Olufemi Terry (2010), Zimbabwean, NoViolet Bulawayo (2011),  Nigerian, Rotimi Babatunde (2012), Nigerian, Tope Folarin (2013), Kenyan, Okwiri Oduor (2014), Zambian, Namwali Serpell (2015), South African, Lidudumalingani (2016), Sudanese writer, Bushra al-Fadil (2017), Kenyan, Makena Onjerika (2018), Nigerian, Lesley Nneka Arimah (2019), Nigerian-British, Irenosen Okojie (2020), Ethiopian, Meron Hadero (2021), Kenyan, Idza Luhumyo (2022) and Senegalese, Mame Bougouma Diene and Woppa Diallo (2023).

Senegalese writers Mame Bougouma Diene & Woppa Diallo win the 2023 Caine Prize for African Writing

19 OCTOBER 2023, LONDON UK – The prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing is delighted to announce that Senegalese writers Mame Bougouma Diene & Woppa Diallo have been awarded the 2023 Caine Prize for African Writing for their outstanding short story, A Soul of Small Places, published in TorDotCom in 2022.

This year’s competition witnessed a record-breaking number of submissions, with 297 entries spanning 28 African countries vying for the coveted prize, while also marking a significant milestone in the Caine Prize’s history with an entirely female judging panel.

Chaired by Fareda Banda - Professor of Law at SOAS, University of London, The Caine Prize Judging Panel unveiled Mame Bougouma Diene & Woppa Diallo as this year’s winners during an awards ceremony held at One Birdcage Walk, London on Monday 2 October 2023. 

Speaking of the winning story, Fareda Banda said: “A Soul of Small Places by Mame Bougouma Diene and Woppa Diallo has earned its place as a groundbreaking short story, making history by becoming the first jointly conceived narrative to win the prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing since its inception in 2000.  It is also the first from Senegal to win the Caine Prize. The judges said that this was a beautifully written story, tender and poetic. Written as speculative fiction, it is about resistance and resilience in the face of gendered violence. This visceral tale speaks powerfully, but not didactically, to one of the pressing global issues of our time. It reminds us too of the power of love in all its forms. The winning story leaves a lasting impression and invites readers to return to it.” 

Mame Bougouma Diene & Woppa Diallo join the esteemed ranks of previous winners, including Kenyan writer Idza Luhumyo (2022), Ethiopian-American writer Meron Hadero (2021), and Nigerian-British writer Irenosen Okjie (2020). 

This year's judging panel, comprised of Writer & Activist Edwige-Renée Dro; Editor & Founder of Mboka Festival Kadija George Sesay; Author & Head of Editorial at Black Ballad Jendella Benson; and Multi-Award Winning Writer & Poet Warsan Shire; were highly impressed by the overall quality and diversity of the shortlisted stories, recognising the exceptional talent within the African literary landscape. 

Mame Bougouma Diene & Woppa Diallo will receive the prestigious £10,000 Caine Prize, in addition to having their work featured in the 2023 Caine Prize Anthology, This Tangible Thing and Other Stories published by Cassava Republic Press. Runners-up Yejide Kilanko, Tlotlo Tsamaase, Ekemini Pius, and Yvonne Kusiima will receive a prize of £500 and also feature in the 2023 Caine Prize Anthology.

Mame Bougouma Diene & Woppa Diallo’s winning story, ‘A Soul of Small Places’ is inspired by real-life experiences, weaving together a narrative that touches on urgent issues of gender-based violence, women's rights, and the resilience of survivors in remote Senegalese communities. Set against the backdrop of African cosmology where spirits and humans coexist, the short-story skillfully incorporates supernatural elements, adding depth and cultural richness. Amidst its dark and brutal narrative, the remarkable collaboration between the two writers also explores the timeless theme of love, making it a compelling and thought-provoking work that demands attention.

The Caine Prize for African Writing has played a pivotal role in shaping the careers of African writers, offering unmatched global visibility and opportunities, including publishing deals and writing fellowships.

Joining Mame Bougouma Diene & Woppa Diallo on this year’s shortlist were:

• Yejide Kilanko (Nigeria) - 'This Tangible Thing', HarperVia (2023)

• Tlotlo Tsamaase (Botswana) - 'Peeling Time (Deluxe Edition)', TorDotCom (2022)

• Ekemini Pius (Nigeria) - 'Daughters, By Our Hands', Isele Magazine (2022)

• Yvonne Kusiima (Uganda) - 'Weaving', Isele Magazine (2022)

Kenyan writer Idza Luhumyo wins the 2022 AKO Caine Prize for African Writing

Kenyan writer Idza Luhumyo at the award ceremony, Mon 18 July 2022, Victoria & Albert Museum. Credit: Dwaine Field-Pellew.

Kenyan writer Idza Luhumyo has been awarded the 2022 AKO Caine Prize for African Writing for her short story ‘Five Years Next Sunday’, published in Disruption (Catalyst Press and Short Story Day Africa, 2021). She is the fifth Kenyan writer to win the award after Binyavanga Wainaina (2002), Yvonne Owuor (2003), Okwiri Oduor (2014) and Makena Onjerika (2018).

Okey Ndibe, Chair of the 2022 AKO Caine Prize Judging Panel, announced the winner at an award ceremony tonight at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. Luhumyo’s story was described by Ndibe as ‘an incandescent story - its exquisite language wedded to the deeply moving drama of a protagonist whose mystical office invites animus at every turn.’ 

Judging the Prize alongside Ndibe this year were French-Guinean author and academic Elisa Diallo; South African literary curator and co-founder of The Cheeky Natives Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane; UK-based Nigerian visual artist Ade ‘Àsìkò’ Okelarin; Kenyan co-founder of the Book Bunk Angela Wachuka. 

Luhumyo takes the £10,000 prize, beating 267 eligible entries in a record year of submissions. She will be published in the 2022 AKO Caine Prize anthology later this year by Cassava Republic Press. Advance reader copies were gifted to the ceremony’s attendees.

‘Five Years Next Sunday’, which won the 2021 Short Story Day Africa Prize, is a story about a young woman with the unique power to call the rain in her hair. Feared by her family and community, a chance encounter with a foreigner changes her fortunes, but there are duplicitous designs upon her most prized and vulnerable possession.

Ndibe, speaking of Luhumyo’s story, said: ‘What we liked about the story was the mystical office of the protagonist, who is both ostracised and yet holds the fate of her community in her hair. She is stripped of agency by her immediate family, as well as the Europeans who give the impression of placing her on a pedestal, yet within that seeming absence of agency, and oppressive world, is her stubborn reclamation of herself. The dramatic tension in the story is so powerful and palpable that it’s like something you could cut with a knife.’

The 2022 Judging Panel spoke highly of the shortlist, commending the other stories for the quality of writing and variety of genre. Mokgoroane and Diallo applauded the diversity of genre, while Ndibe added that there was ‘a sense of the genius in the other contenders’. Okelarin said the stories were ‘well written and emotionally resonant’, and Wachuka praised the inclusion of writers who are also editors (Danquah edited the Accra Noir anthology which featured Danquah’s and McTernan’s story). 

Speaking of The AKO Caine Prize, Wachuka said: ‘The historic import of the Prize on writers' trajectories has ranged from the formation of literary entities, to unmatched global visibility, and opportunities including publishing deals and writing fellowships. I am honoured to have worked with such a formidable group of judges to contribute to the expansion of craft and our publishing ecology.’ 

Joining Luhumyo on this year’s shortlist were: 

• Joshua Chizoma (Nigeria) for his story ‘Collector of Memories’, published in The Hope, The Prayer, The Anthem, Afritondo (2021). Read here.

• Nana-Ama Danquah (Ghana) for her story ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’, published in Accra Noir (Cassava Republic Press, UK & Commonwealth, Akashic Books, US, 2020). Read here.

• Hannah Giorgis (Ethiopia) for her story ‘A Double-Edged Inheritance’, published in Addis Ababa Noir (Cassava Republic Press, UK & Commonwealth, Akashic Books, US, 2020). Read here.

• Billie McTernan (Ghana) for her story ‘The Labadi Sunshine Bar’, published in Accra Noir (Cassava Republic Press, UK & Commonwealth, Akashic Books, US, 2020). Read here.

Each shortlisted writer receives £500 and will also be published in the 2022 AKO Caine Prize anthology. 

The winning story ‘Five Years Next Sunday’ can be read on the AKO Caine Prize website here.

The AKO Caine Prize announces its 2022 shortlisted writers

The AKO Caine Prize for African Writing today announces the 2022 shortlist.

The AKO Caine Prize is an annual award given to an African writer for a short story published in English. This year saw a 130% increase in submissions from writers across the globe; the five shortlisted authors were selected from a record total of 349 entries from 27 African countries by a judging panel comprising Nigerian author and award-winning journalist Okey Ndibe (Chair); French-Guinean author and literary scholar Elisa Diallo; South African podcast host and literary practitioner Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane; London-based Nigerian visual artist Àsìkò Okelarin; Kenyan Book Bunk co-founder Angela Wachuka.

The five shortlisted authors for the 2022 AKO Caine Prize for African Writing are: Joshua Chizoma (Nigeria) for ‘Collector of Memories’, Nana-Ama Danquah (Ghana) for ‘When a Man Loves a Woman’, Hannah Giorgis (Ethiopia) for ‘A Double-Edged Inheritance’, Idza Luhumyo (Kenya) for ‘Five Years Next Sunday’, and Billie McTernan (Ghana) for ‘The Labadi Sunshine Bar’.

Speaking of the shortlist, Okey Ndibe, Chair of Judges, says: ‘The 2022 entries represented a staggering feast. It was a testament to the vibrancy, variety and splendour of creative talent among writers of African descent.’

One publisher stands out amongst the 2022 shortlist: independent, Brooklyn-based press Akashic Books. Akashic Books dominate the list with three shortlisted stories (Danquah, Giorgis, McTernan) having previously been published in their award-winning Akashic Noir original noir anthology series; Nana-Ama Danquah was the editor for Accra Noir, the anthology in which her and McTernan’s story features. Cassava Republic Press also gets to share in the glory as the UK and Commonwealth publishers of the Akashic Noir series.

Meanwhile, newcomers Afritondo and Catalyst Press make the list for the first time with Joshua Chizoma’s ‘Collector of Memories’ - shortlisted for the 2021 Afritondo Short Story Prize and published in The Hope, The Prayer, The Anthem - and Idza Luhumyo’s ‘Five Years Next Sunday’ - winner of the 2021 Short Story Day Africa Prize, and co-published with Short Story Day Africa in Disruption.

Luhumyo’s entry makes this the sixth time a Short Story Day Africa published writer has been shortlisted for the Caine Prize, following Okwiri Oduor (winner, 2014), Diane Awerbuck (shortlist, 2014), Efemia Chela (shortlist, 2014), Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor (shortlist, 2019) and Cherrie Kandie (shortlist, 2019).

Johnny Temple, Publisher at Akashic Books, says: ‘We couldn’t be more honoured to have three stories shortlisted for the prestigious AKO Caine Prize from two outstanding anthologies in our Akashic Noir Series—Accra Noir edited by Nana-Ama Danquah and Addis Ababa Noir edited by Maaza Mengiste.’

Confidence Uwazuruike, Editor of Afritondo, says: ‘We are absolutely delighted that Joshua Chizoma's short story has been shortlisted for the 2022 Caine Prize. Part of our motivation for founding Afritondo was to offer a platform to share Africa's literary voices and stories with the world. We look forward to sharing even more African voices and building stronger ties with the Caine Prize to amplify these voices, both within and outside the continent.’

Jessica Powers, Publisher at Catalyst Press, says: ‘We are super pleased to be included, for the first time ever, in this year's Caine Prize shortlist, and want to thank our amazing co-publishing partners at Short Story Day Africa. Idza's story is a publisher favourite at Catalyst and we're bubbling with excitement about her future writing career as well.’

Each writer shortlisted for the AKO Caine Prize receives £500; the winner will receive a £10,000 prize. If a work in translation is chosen as the winning story, the prize will be shared between the author and the translator.

The winner will be announced at a ceremony held at the V&A in London on Monday 18th July 2022.

The ceremony coincides with the Africa Fashion exhibition - an exhibition which presents the irresistible creativity, ingenuity and unstoppable global impact of contemporary African fashions.

Dr Christine Checinska, Curator of the V&A’s Africa Fashion exhibition, says: ‘We are delighted that the 2022 AKO Caine Prize award ceremony will be held at the V&A, coinciding with the opening of our Africa Fashion exhibition. Our guiding principle for Africa Fashion is the foregrounding of individual African voices and perspectives. We hope this exhibition will spark a renegotiation of the geography of fashion and become a game-changer for the field.’

The 2022 AKO Caine Prize award ceremony is the final event in a UK tour for the shortlisted authors. Stops include a partnered event with The National Centre for Writing and the University of East Anglia in Norwich, and, in London, Candid Book Club and independent bookshop Libreria. More information about the tour will be announced soon.

All of the shortlisted writers will be published in The AKO Caine Prize Anthology alongside stories written at the AKO Caine Prize Workshop, held this year in Ghana.

The AKO Caine Prize announces its 2022 Judges

Judges are drawn from different literary fields including eminent journalists, broadcasters and academics with expertise and a connection to literature in Africa. Five stories are selected for the shortlist by the judges, with one selected as the winner on the day of the award each year.

Okey Ndibe, Chair of Judges, is the author of two novels, Foreign Gods, Inc. and Arrows of Rain; a memoir, Never Look an American in the Eye (winner of the 2017 Connecticut Book Award for nonfiction); and The Man Lives: A Conversation with Wole Soyinka on Life, Literature and Politics He earned MFA and PhD degrees from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and has taught at various universities and colleges, including Brown, St. Lawrence, Trinity College, Connecticut College, and the University of Lagos (as a Fulbright scholar). His award-winning journalism has appeared in major newspapers and magazines in the UK, Italy, South Africa, Nigeria, and the US—where he served on the editorial board of the Hartford Courant. He writes a column on the substack platform titled “Offside Musings,” and co-hosts a podcast of the same name.

Elisa Diallo is a literary scholar and an author based in Frankfurt, Germany. Born in Paris to a French mother and a Guinean father, she works in publishing as Foreign Rights director. She has been on judging panels for several literary prizes, including the newly founded Resonanzen Literary Festival for Black German Writings. She is the author of two books: Tierno Monenembo, une écriture migrante (Karthala, 2012) and Fille de France (Flammarion, 2019; Berenberg, 2021).

Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane is the co-founder and co-host of The Cheeky Natives - a literary platform that focuses on archiving and curatorship of Black artistic expressions. The Cheeky Natives was awarded social media influencer of the year by Brittle Paper in 2021. Letlhogonolo is an advocate and a member of the Johannesburg Society of Bar. They hold a Bachelor of Law from Stellenbosch University and a Masters of Law (summa cum laude) from the University of California, Los Angeles. They have guest lectured at Stellenbosch University, the University of the Witwatersrand, and the University of Pretoria. In 2018, they were named one of the Top 200 Young South Africans.

Àsìkò Okelarin is a London based Nigerian visual artist who communicates his thoughts through the mediums of photography, film and mixed media. His work is constructed in the narrative that straddles between fantasy and reality as a response to his experiences of identity, culture and heritage. Initiated by internal dialogue, his work sparks conversations about the African identity, cultural symbolism and depictions of Yoruba ideology. With an intrinsically sensual approach, where the body becomes the subject, his work generates new ideas around identity, power dynamics and violence. Okelarin has exhibited at Rele Gallery in Nigeria, the Gallery of African Art in London, and been featured in The Times, The Guardian, and The Telegraph. He has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has two current exhibitions, ‘Of Myth and Legend’ and ‘The Woman in the Photograph’, currently showing on Sloane Street and St James Pavilion, London.

Angela Wachuka is a Founder & Managing Trustee at Book Bunk, a firm driving the restoration of some of Nairobi's most iconic public libraries. Book Bunk's flagship project is Nairobi's oldest public library; The McMillan Memorial Library, and two of its branches in Eastlands (Kaloleni Library and Eastlands Library). Wachuka is the former executive director of Kwani Trust, a founding member of the Creative Economy Working Group, and served as Secretary to a National Film Committee appointed by Kenya's Ministry of Sports, Culture and the Arts to align proposed film legislation. She was an International Arts Management Fellow at the Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, and from 2019 to 2020, she was an Africa Leader at the Obama Foundation.