Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature 2024 shortlists announced

The Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature 2024 shortlists were announced in Nairobi, Kenya on Sunday, September 22, 2024.

The Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature celebrates Kenyan writers in the categories of fiction for adults, youth (young adults), and children in English and Kiswahili every two years. The awards, which have been running since 1972, are given by the Kenya Publishers’ Association. Some of the previous winners of the award have been Okot P’Bitek, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, John Habwe, Meja Mwangi, Wahome Mutahi, Margaret Ogola, Ngumi Kibera, and Stanley Gazemba.

Kithaka Wa Mberia, MGN Kahende, Shullam Nzioka, Nducu Wa Ngugi, Ali Attas, and Samuel Wachira won the 2021 awards. They took a two-year hiatus partly because of the lack of funding but it has returned for the twenty-fifth edition of the Nairobi International Book Fair. The shortlists for the awards announced on Sunday feature;

Adult Category (Kiswahili)

• Dafina, Mutahi Mirisho, KLB
• Duara, Timothy M. Arege, Access Publishers
• Kifunganjia by Daniel Okello, Storymoja

Adult Category (English)

• The Airlift Orphan, Marjory Kimani, Nsemia Publishers
• Mirror of Blood, Patrick Ngugi, Moran Publishers
• The Gambler, Ngumi Kibera, Oxford University Press

Youth Category (Kiswahili)

• Mshale wa Matumaini, John Habwe, Access Press
• Fumbo la Wageni, Wafula wa Wafula, Storymoja
• Mkaidi, Gichimu Njeri, Storymoja

Youth Category (English)

• The Maasai Mara Whisperer, Gerald Kithinji, JKF
• A Jacket for Ahmet, Tony Mochama, Oxford University Press
• The Case of the Prowling Panther, Vaishnavi Ram Mohan, Storymoja

Children’s Category (Kiswahili)

• Swila Arejea na Hadithi Nyingine, M. K. Tarus, Storymoja

The winners will be announced at the Nairobi International Book Fair 2024 closing ceremony on September 29, 2024.

Please support our work at Writing Africa with a one-off donation or regularly on Mobile Money, PayPal, or Patreon starting at US$3 a month by clicking here.