The AKO Caine Prize for African Writing, one of the major awards in the African literary scene, has announced the shortlist for its 24th edition. The writers are Uche Okonkwo, Samuel Kolawole, and Pemi Aguda from Nigeria, Tryphena Yeboah from Ghana, and Nadia Davids from South Africa. Zimbabwe’s Yvette Ndlovu receives an honorable mention.

This year, 320 entries from 28 African countries were reviewed to select five standout stories. The winner will be awarded a £10,000 prize.

  • Tryphena Yeboah (Ghana) for “The Dishwashing Women“, Narrative Magazine (Fall 2022) – Read here
  • Nadia Davids (South Africa) for “Bridling”, The Georgia Review (2023) – Read here
  • Samuel Kolawole (Nigeria) for “Adjustment of Status“, New England Review, Vol 44 #3 (Summer 2023) – Read here
  • Uche Okonkwo (Nigeria) for “Animals“, ZyZZYVA (2024) – Read here
  • Pemi Aguda (Nigeria) for “Breastmilk“, One Story Issue #227 (2021) – Read here

The judging panel, chaired by Chika Unigwe, includes Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, Julianknxx, Tumi Molekane aka Stogie T, and Ayesha Harruna Attah.

Unigwe remarked in a press release that reviewing the stories was both a challenging and rewarding experience, given the high quality of many submissions. She praised the shortlisted stories for their range of subject matter and universal resonance:

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.

The Caine Prize has often been viewed as an emerging writers’ prize, typically reserved for early-career writers without book publications. However, this year, all five shortlisted authors have published books. They are well-recognized in the African literary space, having been active on the literary scene for a long time and being finalists or winners of other prestigious awards.

Tryphena Yeboah is currently a Ph.D. student in Creative Writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the author of A Mouthful of Home, a poetry collection published by Akashic Books. Samuel Kọ́láwọlé is an Assistant Professor at Pennsylvania State University. His recently published novel The Road to the Salt Sea is already receiving attention. Uche Okonkwo, also a Ph.D. student in Creative Writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is the author of the critically acclaimed debut short story collection A Kind of Madness. Pemi Aguda has won several prestigious prizes, including the O. Henry Prize in 2022 and 2023. Her highly anticipated collection of short stories titled Ghostroots was published earlier this year. Nadia Davids, whose plays have been staged internationally, is the author of An Imperfect Blessing, which was shortlisted for the Etisalat Prize for Literature.

This year, the Caine Prize is changing its format, with the winner being announced on 17th September via a pre-recorded address. Instead of an immediate ceremony, the shortlisted writers will be integrated into the 25th-anniversary celebrations, which will be a year-long, multi-country lineup of various events. This marks the 24th anniversary of the Prize, which was first awarded to Leila Aboulela in a small ceremony in 2000 at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, followed by an official award ceremony in Zimbabwe. Over the years, the format has evolved, and this year, the Prize is shifting its focus back to the African continent.

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.

Congratulations to the writers! Learn more about their writing in the bios below.

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