Nigerian writers Rogba Payne and Wole Talabi are finalists for the newly launched Aldiss Award for world-building in speculative fiction.

The award is named after Brian Aldiss and celebrates achievements in creating immersive and imaginative worlds across literature, fantasy, and gaming. Its inaugural shortlist features six works, with Payne’s The Dance of Shadows and Talabi’s Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon standing out as the two African entries.

Talabi is widely recognized for fusing Yoruba cosmology with speculative tropes. Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon has earned acclaim from readers and critics alike for reimagining deities in a modern, transnational setting. Payne’s The Dance of Shadows showcases him as one of the most exciting new voices in African fantasy, praised for its intricate myth-making and narrative scope.

What makes both books compelling—and perfectly suited to a prize centered on world-building—is the way they invite readers into fully realized universes:

In Shigidi is a disgruntled nightmare god in the Orisha spirit company, reluctantly sustaining himself on the prayers of a dwindling faithful. When he meets Nneoma, a succubus with a mysterious past, they attempt to escape divine obligations and forge a new life together. But the elder gods who control the Orisha spirit company have other plans—dark, fractured, and dangerous.

The Dance of Shadows is the story of Rumi who is born into the marginalized Odu people. Crushed by poverty and the dominance of a colonizing empire. When his family is targeted by a ruthless attack, Rumi is thrust into a mythic destiny, inheriting the power of the Shadowwielders—warriors able to weaponize their very shadows. Torn between vengeance and the survival of his people, his story unfolds in a world of gods, colonizers, and resistance.

The Aldiss Award is a not-for-profit initiative backed by the British Science Fiction Association, the British Fantasy Society, and the Association for UK Interactive Entertainment. Its focus on world-building resonates strongly with African writers, whose works often draw from rich reservoirs of cosmology, oral tradition, and historical imagination.

The winner will be announced on November 2, 2025, during the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton, UK.

Congratulations to Payne and Talabi. Their presence on the shortlist signals the growing global recognition of African speculative writing and its power to build worlds that captivate readers everywhere.