Nigerian writer Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki is the winner of the 2020 Otherwise Award. Ekpeki announced this vie Twitter: “I’ll be the 1st writer on the continent to win this
& the 2nd time in a row a Nigerian is winning, both of us the only Africans to have. Congrats to the honours listed writers, esp @RB_Lemberg & Isabel Fall, powerful writers. Thanks to the Motherboard for the amazing honour”
Formerly known as The Tiptree Award, the Otherwise award, which was founded in 1991, is awarded to science fiction writing that presents an expanded idea of gender. The award comes with a 1000 USD cash prize, an original artwork, and chocolate.
Ekpeki’s novella, “Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon,” was announced by the judging panel, which included Chesya Burke, M.L. Clarke, Liz Henry (chair), Annalee Newitz, and Tochi Onyebuchi.
Here is what the judges have to say about Ekpeki’s novella:
“In addition to presenting a dramatic and three-dimensional discourse on gender, community, and sacrifice, the story also gives us an inversion of a creation myth wherein the gendered nature of such tales is treated in a grounded and nuanced manner. Not once did it feel like the story’s many themes and aspects existed in isolation. That the story, as much as it holds within it, reads as a seamless piece is a testament to the craft on display.”
“Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon” was originally published in Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora, edited by Zelda Knight and Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki. You can buy a copy here.
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