The finalists for the CLMP Firecracker Awards 2025, including Edwidge Danticat, Mubanga Kalimamukwento, Yalie Saweda Kamara, JoAnne McFarland, and The Weganda Review, were announced on Wednesday, May 21, 2025
The Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) is an organisation of independent literary publishers and magazines founded in the USA in 1967. The CLMP Firecracker Awards for Independently Published Literature are given annually to celebrate books and magazines that make a significant contribution to literary culture and the publishers that strive to introduce important voices to readers far and wide. Prizes are awarded in the categories of Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Poetry, Magazines/General Excellence, and Magazines/Best Debut. Each year, CLMP also awards the Lord Nose Award, given to a publisher or editor in recognition of a lifetime of work in literary publishing. Celeste Mohammed won the fiction award in 2022 for her book debut, offering Pleasantview.
The finalists for the 2025 edition were announced with the following writers of African descent or publications that centre them are;
Fiction
Jury: Luis Alberto Correa, Juliana Lamy, Alejandro Varela
- Obligations to the Wounded by Mubanga Kalimamukwento, published by University of Pittsburgh Press
Creative Nonfiction
Jury: Sean Enfield, Rosa Hernandez, Alejandra Oliva
- We’re Alone by Edwidge Danticat, published by Graywolf Press
Poetry
Jury: Rob Arnold, Truong Tran, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha
- Besaydoo by Yalie Saweda Kamara, published by Milkweed Editions
- A Domestic Lookbook by JoAnne McFarland, published by Grid Books
Magazines/Best Debut
Jury: Amy Brady, Alexandra Watson, Oscar Villalon
- The Weganda Review
Response: The Weganda Review has been named a finalist for the 2025 Firecracker Award in the category of Magazines/Best Debut. We are grateful for the recognition of our work. The Uganda-based literary quarterly publishes essays, fiction, poetry, and art portfolios.
The Firecracker Awards winners will be announced at a virtual ceremony on Thursday, June 26, 2025.
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