Three Nigerians have been announced among the five African writers shortlisted for the 2024 Caine Prize for African Writing.
The Caine Prize — named after the late Sir Michael Caine, former Chairman of Booker PLC — celebrates the richness and diversity of African literature and recognises outstanding achievements in African storytelling.
Founded in 2000, the prize is awarded annually for published short stories (3000 – 10000 words) written by Africans or Africans in the Diaspora.
A statement on the prize’s website revealed that each writer shortlisted for the prize will be awarded £500, and the winner will receive a £10,000 prize. On the other hand, if a work in translation is chosen as the winning story, the prize will be shared between the author and the translator.
According to the website, this year’s submissions “encompassed a diverse range of talent from 28 different countries, including South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda, Ethiopia, Namibia, Morocco, Gambia, Senegal, Eritrea, Malawi, Liberia, Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, South Sudan, Mauritius, Ethiopia, Libya, Algeria and Cameroon.”
The shortlisted Nigerians for the prize and their short stories are Uche Okonkwo for ‘Animals’, published in ZYZZYVA; Samuel Kọ́láwọlé for ‘Adjustment of Status’, published in New England Review, Volume 44; and Pemi Aguda for ‘Breastmilk’, published in One Story, Issue 227.
The two other non-Nigerians shortlisted for the prize are Tryphena Yeboah (Ghana) for ‘The Dishwashing Women’, published in Narrative Magazine; and Nadia Davids (South Africa) for ‘Bridling’, published in The Georgia Review.
Ellah Wakatama OBE — Zimbabwean editor, literary critic, and Chair of The Caine Prize Board of Trustees — commenting on this year’s award said that she looks forward to using the 2024 edition of the prize as an opportunity to amplify her publishing colleagues’ efforts to highlight Africa’s rich writing history and showcase the best of Africa’s new voices.
Wakatama hoped this year’s format would spark wide curiosity and interest in past and contemporary literature from the country that birthed and influenced this year’s winner.
“This fresh approach also ties in with our goal of hosting more events on the continent during our 25th Anniversary celebrations,” she said.
This year’s Chair of Judges of the prize, Nigerian author and creative writing professor at Georgia State College, Chika Unigwe, stated that the judging process was challenging and rewarding.
She revealed that she and the other judges read over 200 eligible stories from familiar and new writers, adding that when they arrived at their longlist, they wished they could have included every story.
“Our consolation is knowing that these works are out in the world, being read, recognised with other prizes, and receiving the attention they deserve,” she said.
Unigwe further stated that the shortlist and the honourable mention (Zimbabwe’s Yvette Ndlovu) span four countries and include writers at various stages of their promising careers.
She added that the stories ranged from speculative to realistic, and covered diverse subject matters, but shared a common thread: “They are compelling, universal human stories.
According to her, the stories offer insights into societies, governments, cultures, and the broader world, posing the fundamental question that all great art asks: How do we navigate life?
“They explore this question with empathy, thoughtfulness, humour, and prose that is both sublime and accessible.
“So, how do we navigate life? In these stories, we do so with regrets, survival, performance, resistance, and ultimately, living. Throughout, we strive to be seen. We are incredibly proud of this outstanding shortlist and our honourable mention,” she said.
John McMurtrie, the Senior Editor at ZYZZYVA, publisher of Okonkwo’s ‘Animals’ was excited at a first Caine shortlisted story for the journal.
McMurtrie stated that Okonkwo’s story beautifully captures the rhythms of daily life. He added that she does so with gentle humour and understated grace.
“We couldn’t be more proud of Uche. And we’re proud to help celebrate her talents, sharing a distinct African voice with a broader readership,” McMurtrie said.
Carolyn Kuebler, the Editor of the New England Review, publisher of Kọ́láwọlé’s ‘Adjustment of Status’, said Kọ́láwọlé’s story of a Nigerian man’s gruelling work in an American morgue reveals the human cost of illegal immigration and the deceptive allure of the West.
“It’s both potent and understated as it chronicles this man’s deep loneliness and unbearable shame,” Kuebler added.
Will Allison, the Contributing Editor at One Story, said he was drawn to ‘Breastmilk’ by the raw honesty of the voice and by the story’s vivid rendering of the early days of parenthood.
“The protagonists’ fear is one that all parents will recognize — the fear of failing one’s child. It’s a fraught, heart-wrenching situation that Pemi Aguda explores with tremendous depth of feeling in pitch-perfect prose,” Allison said.
Uche Okonkwo grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, and is currently pursuing a creative writing PhD at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A former Bernard O’Keefe Scholar at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and resident at Art Omi, she is a recipient of the George Bennett Fellowship at Phillips Exeter Academy, a Steinbeck Fellowship, and an Elizabeth George Foundation grant.
She stories have been published in A Public Space, One Story, the Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2019, and Lagos Noir, among others. She is the author of the debut story collection A Kind of Madness: Tin House (2024); Narrative Landscape (2024); and VERVE Books (2025).
Samuel Kọ́láwọlé was born and raised in Ibadan, Nigeria. He is the author of a new novel, ‘The Road to the Salt Sea’. His work has appeared in AGNI, New England Review, Georgia Review, The Hopkins Review, Gulf Coast, Washington Square Review, Harvard Review, Image Journal, and other literary publications.
Kọ́láwọlé is a graduate of the MFA in Writing and Publishing at Vermont College of Fine Arts; and earned his PhD in English and Creative Writing from Georgia State University. He has taught creative writing in Africa, Sweden, and the United States, and currently teaches fiction writing as an Assistant Professor of English and African Studies at Pennsylvania State University.
Pemi Agudais from Lagos, Nigeria. She is an MFA graduate from the Helen Zell Writers’ Programme at the University of Michigan and the winner of the 2020 Deborah Rogers Foundation Award.
Her writing has been published in One Story, Granta, Ploughshares, American Short Fiction, Zoetrope, and other publications, and has been awarded the O. Henry Prize for short fiction in 2022 and 2023.
She is the author of a collection of stories, Ghostroots (W.W. Norton, 2024; Virago Press, 2024; and Masobe Books, 2024).
According to a press statement published on the Caine Prize’s website, this year marks 24 years since the Sudanese writer and playwright, Leila Aboulela, was announced as the winner of the inaugural Caine Prize.
The organisers of the prize revealed that this year they will adjust the award ceremony to re-centre the announcement on the African continent, which they believe will allow them to integrate this year’s shortlisted writers and judges into the year-long celebration of their 25th anniversary in 2025.
Furthermore, the organisers revealed that the winner of this year’s prize will be announced on 17th September via a pre-recorded address. They added that there will be no immediate ceremony ─ instead, the shortlisted writers will be integrated into the Caine Prize’s 25th-anniversary celebrations, participating in a ‘meet the writers’ event, and appearing alongside past winners and shortlisted writers in readings and discussions held at partner institutions.
“Celebrations will include tribute events for writers such as Charles Mungoshi (Zimbabwe) and Binyavanga Wainana (Kenya), whom we have lost since they won or were shortlisted for the Prize,” the statement read.
Also, according to the statement, all of the shortlisted stories will be published in the Caine Prize Anthology alongside stories written at the Caine Prize Workshop, held this year in Malawi.
“The five shortlisted stories will be compiled into the official Caine Prize anthology and published by Cassava Republic Press and a variety of international publishers around the world,” the statement added.
Since the inception of the Caine Prize, Nigerians are arguably the highest winners and shortlisted writers of the prize.
Former Nigerian winners of the prize include Irenosen Okojie (2020) for ‘Grace Jones’, in Nudibranch, published by Dialogue Books; Lesley Nneka Arimah (2019) for ‘Skinned’, published in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Issue 53); Tope Folarin (2013) for ‘Miracle’ from Transition, Issue 109; Rotimi Babatunde(2012) for ‘Bombay’s Republic’ from Mirabilia Review, Volume 3.9.
Others include EC Osondu (2009) for ‘Waiting’, from Guernicamag.com; Segun Afolabi (2005) for ‘Monday Morning’ from Wasafiri; and Helon Habila (2001) for ‘Love Poems’.
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