A jury of eleven writers will judge the longlist. Shortlisted authors will be announced in September, 2023, while the winners in the different categories will be announced in October.
By Hope Ibiale
Fifteen writers of African descent have been announced as longlisted nominees for the 2023 Diverse Book Awards. These writers were nominated in the following categories: the Picture Book, Best Children’s Book, Young Adult, and Best Adult Book categories.
The longlisted writers of African descent in the running categories are:
Best Picture Book Category
Bookworms by Nyanda Foday, illustrated by Joelle Avelino (Andersen Press)
Best Children’s Book Category
Future Hero: Race To Fire Mountain by Remi Blackwood (Scholastic)
Marv and the Dino Attacks by Alex Falase-Koya, illustrated by Paula Bowles (Oxford University Press)
Sadé and Her Shadow Beasts by Rachel Faturoti, illustrated by Rumbidzai Savanhu (Hodder Children’s Books)
Best Young Adult Book Category
Love in Winter Wonderland by Abiola Bello (Simon & Schuster)
When Our Worlds Collided by Danielle Jawando (Simon & Schuster)
Best Adult Book Category
Here Again Now by Okechukwu Nzelu (Dialogue Books)
Losing the Plot by Derek Owusu (Canongate Books)
News at Noon by Anietie Isong (Jacaranda)
One for Sorrow, Two for Joy by Marie-Claire Amuah (Oneworld)
Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli (Magpie)
The Attic Child by Lola Jaye (Pan Macmillan)
These Impossible Things by Salma El-Wardany (Trapeze)
Wahala by Nikki May (Doubleday)
Yinka, Where is Your Huzband by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn (Viking)
(Read also: Nigerian Novelist, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize)
Other authors who were nominated include: I Am Not a Prince by Rachael Davis, Ajay, and the Mumbai Sun by Varsha Shah, Keep Dancing, Me & My Dysphoria Monster by Laura Kate Dale, The Secret of Haven Point by Lisette Auton, Lizzie Chu by Maisie Chan, Gay Club! by Simon James Green, and others.
The Diverse Book Awards was founded by British-Nigerian writer, Abiola Bello, and British publicist, Helen Lewis in 2019. It is a literary award curated to celebrate distinct books and literary works with characters that are not widely represented. This award is open to fiction writers based in the UK or Ireland.
A jury of eleven writers will judge the longlist. Shortlisted authors will be announced in September, 2023, while the winners in the different categories will be announced in October.
Check the other longlisted authors here.