Canex Prize for Publishing in Africa 2024 longlist announced

The longlist for the inaugural Canex Prize for Publishing in Africa was announced on Thursday, August 15, 2024.

The CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa recognises the publisher of the best African fiction or non-fiction title. It is open to writers from all over the African continent with submissions reviewed by a team of experienced judges to select a long list before being narrowed down to the best works. It is a project of the African Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) CANEX Book Factory and Narrative Landscape Press.

The jury for this edition Dr. Wale Okediran (chair), Edwige-Renée Dro, and Ashraf Aboul-Yazid went through the entries and a longlist was made public on Thursday. The longlist of standout publishers, editors, authors, and books the jury feels are shaping the future of our literature features the following titles;

• The Presidents… From Mandela to Ramaphosa, Leadership in the Age of Crisis, Richard Calland and Mabel Sithole (Penguin Random House South Africa).
• Widows Wear Lipstick: Navigating Grief and Finding Meaning After Loss, Martha Kyoshaba Twinamatsiko (Leap Book Publishers)
• Reine Or, Fatou Sy (Les Case Des Lucioles)
• The Beautiful Side of the Moon, Leye Adenle (Ouida Books)
• Female Fear Factory: Unveiling Patriarchy’s Culture of Violence, Pumla Dineo Gqola (Cassava Republic Press)
• The Lion’s Historian: Archiving Africa’s Animal Past, Sandra Swart (Jacana Media)
• Sanya, Oyin Olugbile (Masobe Books)
• Avenues By Train, Farai Mudzingwa (Cassava Republic Press)
• Paperless, Buntu Siwisa (Jacana Media)
• When We Were Fireflies, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (Masobe Books)
• Peaches and Smeets, Ashti Juggath (Modjaji Books)
• Half Hour Hara, Ugo Anidi (Kachifo)
• African Odyssey of a Lebanese Immigrant… An Autobiography of Sorts, Dr Habib Jaafar (Bookcraft)

The winner will be announced at the Canex WKD 2024 in Algiers, Algeria in October.

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