Zabu Wamara and Kristien Potgieter jointly won the Island Prize for a Debut Novel from Africa 2025 on Monday, May 19, 2025.
The Island Prize for a Debut Novel from Africa is 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).
The longlist was made public on Monday, March 24, before the shortlist was revealed on Monday, May 5.
While announcing the winners, the organisers said, “This year’s competition has once more attracted nearly 200 entries from across the continent, and the range of subjects, styles, and genres has been greater than ever before. The depth of talent in Africa has been demonstrated by the sheer difficulty of selecting a longlist of nine, which could easily have been twice as many. The shortlist was no easier, and we chose five instead of the expected three. Now, rather than one winner, we have had to name two: Night Dancer by Zabu Wamara of Uganda, and In the Valley of Bones by Kristien Potgieter of South Africa. Two very different novels, each with an original story and important themes, told in distinctive voices.”
- Valley of Bones, Kristien Potgieter (South Africa) – Set in the rural South African countryside in the 1940s, In the Valley of Bones by Kristin Potgieter is a gothic tale of forbidden love and creeping dread. After her romantic relationship with another nursing student is discovered, Mina Kruger is exiled to a remote town to work under the employ of Dr Nieuwoudt and his ailing mother. But all is not as it seems. Each morning, Mina wakes to find dead animals in her room; the town is haunted by a predatory leopard; and she begins to suspect her hosts harbor a sinister plan for her. Told through letters to her lost love, Becky, Mina’s growing sense of fear is revealed in chilling detail.
- Night Dancer, Zabu Wamara (Uganda) – Set in contemporary Kampala, Night Dancer by Zabu Wamara follows Amani, a trainee therapist recovering from the trauma of her best friend’s death. Her return to work brings her into contact with Kay, a mysterious patient whose pain mirrors her own. As Amani digs deeper into Kay’s situation, she encounters Cosmas, a colleague from a remote village whose traditional beliefs stand in stark contrast to Amani’s clinical approach. As tensions rise and her judgment begins to fray, Amani finds herself at the crossroads of faith, identity, and the ethics of care.
Kristien Potgieter said, “I still almost can’t believe it’s real — I’m just beyond thrilled, excited, grateful (all the adjectives!) to have won the 2025 Island Prize for a Debut African Novel along with Zabu Wamara from Uganda. I’ve spent several years working on this book without any real clue whether it would be good enough to see the light of day — I’ve been talking people’s ears off about “my Graaff-Reinet book” for years now with nothing to show for it until now! — so this win is a truly lovely boost. I couldn’t be more grateful to @hollandhouse3525, @catullusfan and the @hhbislandprize organisers and judges for this vote of confidence in my writing, whatever it might lead to next! I’m also just so honoured that my book was selected alongside Zabu’s. Excited for what comes next!”
Leave a Reply