Doreen Anyango and Gladwell Pamba were revealed to be the Ibua Novel Manuscript Project 2024 winners in Kampala, Uganda, on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
Ibua Publishing is a Uganda-based publishing house committed to providing writers with the tools to grow their craft, improve editorial quality, and bring it to a wider audience since it was founded in 2018. They initiated the Ibua Manuscript Project, reminiscent of the legendary Kwani Manuscript Prize of yesteryear, in September 2023. It was aimed at discovering and developing new voices from East Africa, collaborating with the creative teaching platform Saseni!
The longlist for the new initiative, which had a jury that included Vimbai Shire and Billy Kahora, was made public in July 2024. The winners, which were revealed on Monday, July 1, had the following two joint winners and a runner-up;
Joint Winners
- Belongers, Doreen Anyango – Belongers captivated the jury with its powerful exploration of grief, belonging, and survival in modern Uganda. Judge Vimbai Shire described the work as “vivid, rich and emotionally weighty,” particularly praising “the quiet precision and portrayal of grief.”
- Next of Kin, Gladwell Pamba – Next of Kin offers readers an immersive journey through urban Nairobi, weaving together personal grief with broader social critique. The novel impressed judges from the very first line, with Vimbai Shire noting how she was “immersed from the first line” and that it “held my attention throughout.”
Runner-Up:
- The Oath, Muthoni wa Gichuru – The Oath by Muthoni wa Gichuru, brings historical richness and cultural depth to the forefront. This ambitious work has been praised for its “rich world-building in the historical timeline with a strong evocation of cultural and spiritual rituals” and its “important thematic engagement with colonial trauma.”
These manuscripts will be part of Ibua Publishing’s 2026 publishing catalog.
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