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The longlist for the Booker Prize was announced last week, and we are so delighted that there are two Africans on the list of twelve.

Morocco and Nigeria are representing the continent with Laila Lalami’s The Moor’s Account and Chigozie Obioma’s The Fishermen.

The Moor’s Account is a historical novel following the adventures of a Moroccan explorer and comes highly recommended by critics. Last week, Lalami called out The Guardian for ignoring her African identity by writing that Obioma was “the sole African writer” on the list.

Kudos to Lalami for this—especially at a time when it has become fashionable for authors to disavow their African identity.

As for Obioma, he made the list thanks to his debut novel The Fishermen, a modern-day parable exploring family bond.

At 29, Obioma is the youngest nominee on this year’s Man Booker Prize longlist.

When he received the news of his nomination, he gave a shout out to his literary agent and publishing company in the following tweet:

Congrats to Lalami and Obioma! Hope they make it through to the shortlist. The much anticipated shortlist is set for September 15. Until them, read our review of The Fishermen HERE and Lalami’s advice for writers HERE.