Ameen Animashaun was announced the Evaristo Prize for African Poetry 2025 winner on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.
The Brunel International African Poetry Prize, founded by Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo, was established in 2012 to revitalise African poetry and provide a new generation of poets with an international platform. It was won by Warsan Shire (2013), Liyou Libsekal (2014), Safia Elhillo and Nick Makoha (2015), Gbenga Adesina and Chekwube O. Danladi (2016), Romeo Oriogun (2017), Momtaza Mehri, Theresa Lola, and Hiwot Adilow (2018), Nadra Mabrouk and Jamila Osman (2019), Rabha Ashry (2020), and Othuke Umukoro (2021).
In 2023, the prize, now administered by the African Poetry Book Fund, was renamed the Evaristo Prize for African Poetry after its founder. The first winners of the newly reconstituted award were Gracia Mwamba and Feranmi followed in 2024 by the joint winners Ehiorobo Derek and Kyle Okeke.
The 2025 jury comprised poet Tjawangwa Dema, who chaired alongside poet and academic Tsitsi Jaji, and poet and visual artist Mahtem Shiferraw. From the submissions received during the reading period, the panel announced the shortlist on April 30 before Ameen Animashaun was announced the winner for his submission Song on Tuesday.
Of Animashaun’s work, the judges said: “[it is] quite haunting in its illusiveness, and it really trusts language to do all the work. There is so much control over the line here, and expansiveness in thought. Most of all, there is clarity in each poem…This is a poet happy to throw themselves at language and encounter the not always linear, the abstract and so on without losing sight of the poet’s duty to clarity.”
Ameen Animashaun said, “I’ve dreamed of the Evaristo Prize since I was 18, when it was still the “Brunel Prize”. To say this is “a dream come true” would be nothing short of the truth. I am thankful to those who came before me; to those who paved the way for us all. Thank you. I am grateful. ❤️✨”
You can read Animashaun’s award winning submission, he receives the US$1,500 cash prize, by clicking here.
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