Image Credit, African Writers Conference

Winners in the various categories of awards will be announced at the 7th edition of the African Writers Conference in Kigali, Rwanda.                    

The announcement of nominees for this year’s Awards for African Writers has ramped up expectations for the event scheduled for October 22nd-27th in Kigali, Rwanda. Writers received nominations for the Wakini Kuria Prize for children’s literature, the Wanjohi Prize for African poetry, the short story prize, and the teen awards for prose and poetry.

Judges drawn from several African countries and led by Anthony Onugba, founder of Writers Space Africa, selected nominees after extensive reviews of all eligible entries. “I am hopeful this event will grow to become a foremost fertile ground for discovering new writing talents on the continent,” Anthony Onugba said.  “We want to extend our gratitude to the esteemed panel of judges who dedicated their time to evaluating all the submissions.”

Nigeria’s Azizah Bello, Cynthia Maduekwe, Fatuhah Ogbara, and Emmanuel Koori are among the nominees for the 3rd African Teen Writers Award for poetry. They are joined by Ghana’s Adrian Nyarko-Boateng and Waris Ntow. Other nominees are Semira Ahmed and Saron Redietu from Ethiopia, Tanzania’s Glorie Godfrey, and Kenya’s Ebeneza Vuganzi.

The prose category of the same award is an all-Nigeria affair with Sumaiyah Muhammad, Tobiloba Ibitoye, Fatima Zahara Abdulwahab, Francis Zenom Sati, Hanafi Fathia, and Fortune Eleojo Simeon making the list.

The 7th African Writers Award for short stories has Mauritius’ Raj Bijloll, Kenya’s duo of Winnie Wekesa and Jared Nyabaro, South Sudan’s Lina Arop, and Ghana’s Elizabeth Dwamena-Asare. Other nominees are Celestine Seyon, Philip Arko Ewusi, Victor Nwachukwu, Tammy Quakers, and John Ebute from Nigeria.

The 6th edition of the Wakini Kuria Prize for Children’s Literature has nine nominations held by Ethiopia’s duo of Samuel Admassu and Amanuel Abebaw, Kenya’s duo of John Kranja and Grace Thuo, and Zimbabwe’s Rudo Mungoshi and Thandeka Mpofu. The other nominees are Thaniwe Chibale, Cynthia Anje Nkweti, and Laura Petite from Zambia, Cameroon, and Tanzania.

The 1st Wanjohi Prize for African Poetry has seven Nigerian nominees and one from Tanzania, South Sudan, and Ghana. The Nigerian writers are Azeez Odunjo, Eniola Abdulroqueeb Arowolo, Aderanti Adesoyin, Michael Agunbiade, Saheed Sunday, Echezonachi-Maxwell Daniel, and Adedolapo Grillo. The other nominees are Tanzania’s Immaculate Halla, South Sudan’s Mk Kuol, and Ghana’s Gabriel Awuah Mainoo.

See below for all nominated writers, submissions, and judges for one of Africa’s leading cultural conferences:

The 3rd African Teen Writers Awards (Poetry) – The judges for both the Poetry and Prose are: Corona Cermak (Tanzania), Patricia Peace Ejang (Uganda), Tamunomieibi Enoch (Nigeria), and Adedokun Ibrahim Anwar (Nigeria).
A Prayer to the Unknown by Azizah Bello (Nigeria)
A Right to Peace by Cynthia Maduekwe (Nigeria)
A Right to Peace by Saron Redietu (Ethiopia)
A Right to Peace: The Desperate Wails of the Forgotten by Fatihah Ogbara (Nigeria)
Craving by Emmanuel Koori (Nigeria)
Does God Still Loves Me by Ebeneza Vuganzi (Kenya)
If Peace Was by Joanne Glorie Godfrey (Tanzania)
Right to Peace by Adrian Nyarko-Boateng (Ghana)
Should Not All Have Peace by Waris Ntow (Ghana)
The Gift Of Peace by Semira Ahmed (Ethiopia)

The 3rd African Teen Writers Awards (Prose)
Five Things Mother Did Not Prepare Me For by Sumaiyah Muhammad (Nigeria)
The Gentlest Revolution by Tobiloba Ibitoye (Nigeria)
The Old Rag My Mother Squeezed by Fatima Zahara Abdulwahab (Nigeria)
The Peace Keeper Journey by Francis Zenom Sati (Nigeria)
Three Days Inside Loma Mountain by Hanafi Fathia (Nigeria)
Your love unfurled the wrong way by Fortune Eleojo Simeon (Nigeria)

The 7th African Writers Awards for Short Stories – The judges are Sabah Carrim (Mauritius), Patrick Nzabonimpa (Rwanda), and Verah Omwocha (Kenya).
Blue Revenge by Raj Bijloll (Mauritius)
Hushed Stars by John Ebute (Nigeria)
Kindred Spirits by Winnie Wekesa (Kenya)
Munyentwali by Tammy Quakers (Nigeria)
Once Upon a Sad Beginning by Victor Nwachukwu (Nigeria)
Once upon a time in Rwanda by Ceelala Lalasi (Philip Arko Ewusi) (Nigeria)
The Disgruntled Alumnus by Lina Arop (South Sudan)
The Rest is History by Celestine Seyon (Nigeria)
The Sacred Beauty by Jared Nyabaro (Kenya)
When Love Exits by Elizabeth Dwamena-Asare (Ghana)

The 6th Edition of the Wakini Kuria Prize for Children’s Literature – The Judges are: Nahida Esmail (Tanzania), Halieo Motanyane (Lesotho), and Namse Udosen (Nigeria).
A Close Call – Honored by Absentia by Grace Thuo (Kenya)
A Tale of 2 Guardians by Thandiwe Chibale (Zambia)
Bee: One Another’s Keeper by Cynthia Anje Nkweti (Cameroon)
Food Fights Not So Far Away by Thandeka Mpofu (Zimbabwe)
Nandera the Brave – A Tale of Triumph by Laura Petite (Tanzania)
Tapo the Duck by John Karanja (Kenya)
The Acorn and the Oak by Samuel Admassu (Ethiopia)
The Magical Forest Adventure by Amanuel Abebaw (Ethiopia)
Who Stole the King’s Beard? By Rudo Mungoshi (Zimbabwe).

The 1st Wanjohi Prize for African Poetry – The Judges are: Funminiyi Akinrinade (Nigeria), Autricia Njang (Cameroon), Joy Rita (Kenya), Chipo Chama (Zambia), Patricia P. Ejang (Uganda), and Chidiebere Udeokechukwu (Nigeria)
Alhamdulillahi by Azeez Odunjo (Nigeria)
At Vlekete Market by Eniola Abdulroqueeb Arowolo (Nigeria)
For Sale, African Drums Designed by Robots by Gabriel Awuah Mainoo (Ghana)
Gods at the Descent of Spirit by Aderanti Adesoyin (Nigeria)
Home by Michael Agunbiade (Nigeria)
In A Cafeteria, A Cyborg Teaches Me Self-Love by Saheed Sunday (Nigeria)
Let the World Pause a Little by Echezonachi-Maxwell Daniel (Nigeria)
The Haunting by Adedolapo Grillo (Nigeria)
These Poems I Write Now by Mk Kuol (South Sudan)
Why Pumpkin Leaves Are My Favourite Mboga by Immaculate Halla (Tanzania)

Winners in the various categories of awards will be announced at the 7th edition of the African Writers Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, while next year’s conference will take place in Lesotho at a future date.