The reading committee for the 2025 Townsend Prize for Fiction has put together a list of ten finalists for the 2025 prize, which includes Chika Unigwe’s The Middle Daughter!

Published by Dzanc Books last March, The Middle Daughter is “a modern reimagining of the myth of Hades and Persephone within a Nigerian family” that follows the seventeen-year-old protagonist Nani as she struggles to break free from the influence of a charismatic preacher and an abusive husband and return to her family.

This is prolific Nigerian writer Chika Unigwe’s fifth novel. Among her numerous publications is the novel On Black Sisters Street (Random House, 2011), the short story collection Better Never Than Late (Cassava Republic Press, 2019), and the children’s book Obioma Plays Football (Cassava Republic Press, 2023).

The Townsend Prize for Fiction is awarded by the Atlanta Writers Club-Georgia Writers Museum every two years to the best piece of literary fiction written by a Georgia author during the time since the last award. The selection committee for the prize, comprised of members of the Georgia literary community, puts together an initial list of ten finalists that is then passed on to three out-of-state judges who select the winning title. Previous winners of this award include Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (1984), Kathryn Stockett’s The Help (2010), and most recently, Sanjena Sathian’s Gold Diggers (2023).

The winner of this year’s Townsend Prize for Fiction will be announced at the awards ceremony on April 16, 2025.

All the best to Chika Unigwe!