Longlist for Afritondo Short Story Prize 2023 Announced

by | Feb 22, 2023 | Gist Corner

On Saturday, February 11, 2023, Afritondo released its longlist of writers vying for the prize. For this year, writers were asked to write on the theme: “Aliens.” The call amassed over 350 entries from African and Black writers from different countries all over the world. Of the entries, Confidence Uwazuruike, co-editor of Afritondo says: “This is the fourth year of the Afritondo Short Story Prize, and we are extremely pleased with the quality of entries that the prize has always attracted. We received so many entries but could only longlist 15 stories. So to those who didn’t make it to the longlist this time: keep writing, keep trying, your craft is amazing.” The longlist includes:

  1. Jenny Robson The Sister-in-law (South Africa/Botswana)
  1. Ani Kayode Somtochukwu Grey Is A Colour That Never Stains (Nigeria)
  1. Anonymous The Colosseum (United States)
  1. Igbẹkẹle Salawu The Alien Natives (Nigeria)
  1. Moses Abukutsa Secret Stories of Koyogela Street (Kenya)
  1. Desta Haile The Headhunter (Eritrea / United Kingdom)
  1. . MC. Okonkwo I’m Taking It To The Grave (Nigeria)
  1. Charlie Muhumuza Once Boys and Girls Of The Stream (Uganda)
  1. Fayssal Bensalah Citizen Sarah (Algeria)
  1. Ayo Awoyungbo The Man From Abeokuta (United Kingdom)
  1. Uchechi Princewill Akachi Elevator Johnson (Nigeria)
  1. Enit’ayanfe Ayosojumi Akinsanya The Anatomy Of Flying Things (Nigeria)
  1. Lubwama Joshua That Over Which They’d Dispute (Uganda)
  1. Tafadzwa Z. Taruvinga Small Housing (Zimbabwe)
  1.  Alex Kadiri The Hyena And The Two-Headed Goat (Nigeria)

The judging panel for the award this year is Ugandan author Doreen Baingana, Ghanaian author Ayesha Harruna Attah, and Zambian-Ghanaian writer and editor Efemia Chela. They will meet in subsequent weeks to decide on a shortlist, and a winner who will go home with the  US$1,000 prize money. Later in the year, longlisted entries will be collected and published in an anthology.

Afritondo is a platform that aims to connect with and tell the stories of African and black minority population. Previous winners of its short story prize have been: Jarred Thompson, Desta Hailey, and Howard Meh-Buh Maximus.

Goodluck to everyone on the longlist!