The Miles Morland Foundation has revealed the four exceptional recipients of the 2024 Morland African Writing Scholarships. Selected from nearly 500 applications submitted by published authors across Africa and the diaspora, this year’s winners represent the diversity and richness of African storytelling.

The 2024 Morland Writing Scholars are:

  • Carey Baraka (Kenya): For a nonfiction work examining the Shakahola cult killings, exploring the lives lost, survivors’ stories, and the socio-political roots of religious extremism in East Africa.
  • Fayssal Bensalah (Algeria): For a darkly absurd satire on colonialism and environmental devastation, chronicling a flamboyant French colonel’s surreal journey through 1950s Algeria.
  • Yvette Ndlovu (Zimbabwe): For an AfroSurrealist fable of resistance, following a journalist-turned-revolutionary in a fictional Zimbabwe haunted by its resurrected dictator.
  • Frances Ogamba (Nigeria): For a speculative novel about a man whose memory is severed by a spiritual spell, rediscovering his identity decades later. The novel delves into migration, memory, Igbo spirituality, and ancestral justice.

Each winner will receive a ₤18,000 grant to take a year off to focus on writing a book based on their winning proposals and previously published excerpts.

Miles Morland, founder of the scholarship, praised the winners for their unique and compelling projects:
“Once more we have a diverse group of outstanding writers, one each from Nigeria, Algeria (our first Algerian scholar), Zimbabwe, and Kenya. Their subjects are fascinating, opening doors to areas most of us know nothing about. It looks like 2024 will be a vintage year.”

Head judge Muthoni Garland expressed her gratitude and excitement:
“Thank you, all, and Miles most of all, for making this happen. I am honoured to be a part of this process of giving this amazing opportunity to our best writers once again.”

The Miles Morland Foundation will announce the dates and rules for the 2025 Scholarships early next year. Aspiring applicants are encouraged to stay updated by visiting the MMF website: www.milesmorlandfoundation.com.

Congratulations to the 2024 Morland African Writing Scholars—Carey Baraka, Fayssal Bensalah, Yvette Ndlovu, and Frances Ogamba—for their well-deserved recognition. We await the powerful stories that will emerge from their year of writing.