Zimbabwean writer Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza has been named the 2026 Caine Prize winner for his short story “The Blue Fighter,” published by The Shallow Tales Review in 2025. He takes home £10,000, with his win confirmed at the prize’s ceremony in London this October before he’s celebrated with the award in Zimbabwe, as is Caine Prize tradition.

Brittle Paper covered the shortlist back in September, when Kundizeza was named alongside Gladwell Pamba (Kenya, “The Last Shop”), Melara Mvogdobo (Cameroon, “Dieu Merci!”), Akinwande Jordan (Nigeria, “So Long Now It’s Starting To Look Like Eternity”), and Yasmine Zohdi (Egypt, “The Absence of Stains”), chosen from a record 407 entries across 27 African countries. The Shallow Tales Review’s founder and editor, Nzube Nlebedim, said at the time that “The Blue Fighter” speaks first to the strength of its artist’s will, and then to the story itself.

Kundizeza is a Zimbabwean writer based in Harare, and this isn’t his first major recognition. His debut novel manuscript, Freelance, won the 2024 Island Prize for Debut African Fiction. “The Blue Fighter” will now appear in the annual Caine Prize Anthology alongside the other shortlisted stories and work developed at this year’s Caine Prize Workshop, held in Tanzania.

The Caine Prize, first awarded in 2000 to Sudanese writer Leila Aboulela, has built a track record of recognizing writers who go on to define contemporary African fiction, with past winners including Okwiri Oduor and Binyavanga Wainaina. Kundizeza now joins that list.

Read the winning story here.

Congratulations, Kundizeza!