2024 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.

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 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).

Chika Unigwe (Chair of Judges) 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.

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.