The shortlist, drawn from a longlist of 11 writers, features writers from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
By Hope Ibiale
The James Currey Prize for African Literature has unveiled its shortlist for its 2023 edition. The shortlist, drawn from a longlist of 11 writers, features writers from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The winner of this year’s prize will be awarded a cash prize of £1,000 and will have their manuscript published by Abibiman Publishing UK.
The five shortlisted writers are:
Bolga by Bus, by A.G. Agambila (Ghana)
Akala by William Ifeanyi Moore (Nigeria)
Legend of a Beach House by Peter Ngila Njeri (Kenya)
Black Fractures in Exile by Limpho Sechele (South Africa)
A Dangerous Job for a Woman by Patricia Brickhill (Zimbabwe)
The jury chairperson, Henry Akubuiro, also shared that, “The winner of the 2023 James Currey Prize for African Literature will be announced during the African Literature Festival, scheduled to take place in Oxford, UK, from September 1-3, 2023.” The other jury members include Nneoma Otuegbe, Tatiana Cassiano, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, Javier Gutierrez Lozano, Debbie Edwards, and Masande Ntshanga.
The James Currey Prize for African Literature is an annual award for the best unpublished work of fiction written in English by an African writer. The prize aims to promote and celebrate African voices and stories. The literary award is named after James Currey, a prominent publisher known and acknowledged for his contributions to African literature.