Nigerian writer Ani Kayode Somtochukwu has emerged as the winner of the maiden edition of the James Currey Prize for African Literature.

The award, which comes with a cash prize of £1,000, was founded by Onyeka Nwelue in honour the legacy of James Currey, who “brought to African literature an exposure that accentuated the heterogeneity of African literature.”

The prize was chaired by Sarah Inyal Lawal, and it included the following judges: the Canada-based Nigerian publisher, Bibi Ukonu, Dr. Pinkie Megkwe (Botswana), Barbara Adair (South Africa), Kennedy Ekezie-Joseph (Nigeria), Arun Jay (India) and Miko Yamanouchi (Japan).

The judges described Kayode’s manuscript And Then He Sang a Lullaby as “breathtaking.” Ani Kayode Somtochukwu is writer and Queer Liberation Activist. His work has appeared in The Enkare ReviewThe Rustin TimesGertrudeBakwa, and PlenitudeMagazine, and elsewhere. Kayode is the host of Rainbow Marxism, a YouTube channel that focuses on queer liberation in