Élékéré Press has announced the seven writers shortlisted for the inaugural Élékéré Short Story Prize, selected from more than 200 submissions from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, the United States, Zimbabwe, and beyond.

Launched in 2026, the prize celebrates unpublished short fiction by Black writers across Africa and the diaspora. For its inaugural edition, writers were invited to respond to the theme “Inheritance,” exploring what is passed down, carried forward, resisted, remembered, or remade.

The shortlisted stories are:

  • “Sweet Salt” by Olúwatúnmiṣe Ọ̀tọ̀lórìn Akìgbógun (Nigeria)
  • “The Tick” by Gabriel Divinefavour Onyekachi (Nigeria)
  • “Tomato Baby” by Timothy Ugorji (Nigeria)
  • “Name Equations” by Oghenechovwe Ekpeki (Nigeria)
  • “N/A, Check Next Visit” by Haliru Ali Musa (Nigeria)
  • “Image of A Man” by Shirley Strickland (United States)
  • “The Inheritance of Hands” by Black Edward (Zimbabwe)

The shortlist was selected by a panel of four reader judges chaired by Arinze Ifeakandu, author of God’s Children Are Little Broken Things.

Speaking about the selection, Élékéré Press editor Olly Nze said the prize was established to “spotlight, celebrate, and empower” Black and African writing talent. Nze described the shortlist as “a diverse” selection of writers from different parts of the world and backgrounds, adding that it reflects the range of contemporary Black and African storytelling while embodying Élékéré Press’s commitment to challenging conventional ideas about who gets to tell these stories and how.

The winner will receive a $500 cash prize and will be announced on November 2, 2026. The winning story will also be published on the Élékéré Press website.

Élékéré, an Igbo word for the hour hand of a clock, is an independent literary press publishing daring and imaginative work by African writers on the continent and in the diaspora. Its list encompasses literary fiction, intimate and erotic writing, feminist work, and experimental forms, with a particular interest in stories that are tender, disruptive, or difficult to contain within conventional genre boundaries.