Island Prize 2025 longlist announced

The Island Prize for a Debut Novel from Africa 2025 longlist was made public on Monday, March 24, 2025.

The Island Prize for a Debut Novel from Africa is a prize from Holland House Books (UK), Karavan Press (SA), and Booker Prize longlistee Karen Jennings. It aims to give writers from Africa (or the diaspora) a chance to showcase their work to a wider audience, with the possibility of feedback, mentoring, meeting with a potential agent, and publication (both in the UK and South Africa). Previous winners have been Reem Gaafar (2023) and Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza (2024).

Award organisers have announced the longlist for 2025 saying, “The 2025 Island Prize longlist has now been agreed; this has been the most difficult so far, because the general quality is the highest we have ever had – at one point it seemed as though we might have a longlist of more than 20 books! However, we now have a final nine, and a further ten which deserve special mentions. Not only has the quality been exceptional, the range of subjects and styles has been exciting, with entries from all over the continent. There are some trends, in particular the increase in fantasy stories – which often draw on African mythology and folk tales – and stories about female experience and the cultural challenges felt across the continent.”

The longlist of nine from the 150 entries comprises;

• A Small Patch of Earth, Azags Agandaa (Ghana)
• A Dream Bewitched, Izzy Agu (Rwanda/Nigeria)
• To Wake in Happiness, Rafeeat Aliyu (Nigeria)
• Delayed Destiny, Herbert Ambesi Che (Cameroon)
• Back Against the Wall, Geoffrey Irungu (Kenya)
• Love Across Borders, Wame Molefhe (Botswana)
• I Looked Up, Kuzivashe Kudzerema (Zimbabwe)
• Valley of Bones, Kristien Potgieter (South Africa)
• Night Dancer, Zabu Wamara (Uganda)

A shortlist of three books will be announced on May 5 before the winner is made public later in the year.