The shortlist will be revealed on October 2, 2023, while the winners will be announced later this year at the African Writers Conference in Ghana.
By Hope Ibiale
The organisers of the African Writers Awards have unveiled their longlist for the 2023 edition. The three-in-one literary prize released its list of writers, unveiled under the African Writers Awards for Poetry, the Wakini Kuria Prize for Children’s Literature, and the African Teen Writers Awards. The shortlist will be revealed on October 2, 2023, while the winners will be announced later this year at the African Writers Conference in Ghana.
The longlisted writers include:
The African Writers Awards for Poetry 2023
Coded Tongue, Mirriam Kalekye (Kenya)
Dear AI, Dr Pat Ashinze (Nigeria)
Nyachide, Emelda Gwitimah (Zimbabwe)
Oracles of Zeros and Ones, Truth Ndubueze (Nigeria)
Robo Fantasies, Mufumba Jonathan (Uganda)
Samantha, Alex Lwanda (Kenya)
Scorching, Uduogu Victor (Nigeria)
The AI Dawn, Seyi Ojenike (Nigeria)
The Nilotic Coddiwomple, Marial Awendit (South Sudan)
Whispers of Codes, Isabel Nowemigisha (Uganda)
(Read also: The Commonwealth Short Story Prize Opens Submissions for 2024 Prize, Unveils Judges)
Wakini Kuria Prize for Children’s Literature 2023
Meeme and the Singing Calabash, Grace Tendo Katana (Uganda)
Ngoni Makes a Difference, Kudzai Mhangwa (Zimbabwe)
Omelet the Dreaming Flying Dodo, Winnie Maluli (Kenya)
Secret Mission Man, Silindiwe Sibanda (South Africa)
Tato, Chantelle Chiwetalu (Nigeria)
Thandi and the Hair Whisperer, Lindsay Katchika-Jere (Malawi)
The Girl with a Halo, Ayodele Oyeku (Nigeria)
The Red Boy of Zoe Street, Elizabeth Dwamena-Asare (Ghana)
African Teen Writers Awards (Poetry)
A Gulp from My Porch, Fatima Abdulwahab (Nigeria)
Because Life Began on a Dreamer’s Lips, Bella Ogwuche (Nigeria)
E-M(AI)L, Theresa Shukrani Mulindwa (Zambia)
Grief Garden – Beautiful Broken, Ehijokwu Onyinyechi Rita (Nigeria)
Home is Where Blood Meets Water, Erinola Daranijo (Nigeria)
Lost Identity, Amina Muhammad (Nigeria)
Rhythm, Johanna Ataman (Nigeria)
This Poem Leads Back Home, Adedokun Ibrahim (Nigeria)
Unveiled Radiance: A Tribute to Black Women, Olamide Jamiu (Nigeria)
Yet Again, Abimbola Akinyemi (Nigeria)
African Teen Writers Awards (Prose)
A Flipped Coin, Divine Okpe (Nigeria)
African Heritage, Joshua Ojo (Nigeria)
Alone, Oluwanifemi Fagbolagun (Nigeria)
Family Bond, Esther Oluwatuminimu Opayemi (Nigeria)
Father, Desolated Body, by Abioye Aisha (Nigeria)
Just When We Thought Its Dawn, Sa’ada Yahaya (Nigeria)
Midnight is the Carnival of a Dead Man, Ndakotsu Abubakar (Nigeria)
My Country, My Pride, Fayemi Oyinoluwa (Nigeria)
Mysteries Untold, Vyangel Aorabee (Nigeria)
Treasure in Detention, Fayemi Iyinoluwa (Nigeria)
(Read also: African Writers, Nathacha Appnah and Elgas, Selected for the 2023 Prix Renaudot)
Established by the African Writers Development Trust, the African Writers Awards was created to celebrate the best-emerging writers in Africa. This year, the winners of the African Teen Writers (Prose and Poetry) category will receive a certificate of achievement and a cash prize of $100. The winner of the African Writers Awards will win $500, an Amazon ebook publishing contract, and a scholarship for a 3-month creative writing course. The first runner-up of the Wakini Kuria Prize for Children’s Literature will receive a certificate and $200, the second-place winner will receive a certificate and $150. At the same time, the third-place winner will receive a certificate and $100.
The awards this year will be judged by Anthony Onugba as chief judge, alongside Nahida Esmail (Tanzania), Testimony Odey (Nigeria), Temwani Mgunda (Malawi), Corona Cermak (Tanzania), Patricia Ejang (Uganda), Comfort Nyati, SDB (Zimbabwe), Mildred Enoch (Nigeria), Ona Zozoni (Botswana), Halieo Motanyane (Lesotho), and Namse Peter Udosen (Nigeria).
Congrats to everyone long listed!