The Ignyte Awards, presented annually since 2020 to celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the current and future landscapes of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, have announced their 2026 finalists. The list was revealed on Monday, June 8, with public voting open through August 16. 

In Outstanding Novel: Adult, three names with African roots compete head-to-head. Nigerian-British author Oyinkan Braithwaite is nominated for Cursed Daughters (Doubleday). She is joined by Nigerian-American writer Tochi Onyebuchi, nominated for Harmattan Season (Tor Books), a fantasy noir novel set in West Africa, Onyebuchi has built a body of work steeped in Nigerian-inspired fantasy, including Beasts Made of Night and the War Girls series. Also shortlisted in the category is British-Nigerian author M.H. Ayinde, for her epic fantasy A Song of Legends Lost (Saga Press).

The short fiction categories are similarly stacked. Wole Talabi is a finalist for Outstanding Novella with Descent, published by Sauútiverse. He celebrated the news on social media, writing: “The Ignytes mean a lot to me because of what they represent. Community, care, consideration.” In Outstanding Novelette, Somto Ihezue’s “We Begin Where Infinity Ends,” published in Clarkesworld in February 2025, is a finalist, fresh off winning the 2026 Locus Award for Best Novelette . Ihezue wrote on Instagram: “I poured all my heart and tenderness into this one.” In Outstanding Short Story, Nigerian speculative fiction writer Albert Nkereuwem is shortlisted for “Commensalism, Or the Labyrinth’s Vessels,” published by Will This Be A Problem. Nkereuwem described the story, about a Lagos chef in conversation with a super-intelligent slime mould that has conquered Earth, as one that means a great deal to him.

African writers and editors also feature heavily in Outstanding Anthology/Collected Works. As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories, edited by Terese Mason Pierre, includes contributions from Nigerian writers and editors Chinelo Onwualu, Chimedum Ohaegbu, Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga, Suyi Davies Okungbowa, and Francesca Ekwuyasi. The same category includes The Black Fantastic: 20 Afrofuturist Stories, edited by André M. Carrington for Library of America, featuring Tochi Onyebuchi, P. Djèlí Clark, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, and other contributing writers.

African speculative fiction is not occupying a corner of this year’s Ignytes, it is structuring the conversation. Voting is open now through August 16, 2026, at ignyteawards.fiyahlitmag.com/vote.