Canex Book Factory Announces Shortlist for Canex Publishing Prize

The inaugural Canex Publishing Prize shortlist was announced on September 25, 2024, with five books from different publishers on the list. CANEX, in Partnership with Narrative Landscape Press and The James and Grace Adichie Foundation, plans a year-long programme of interventions to spotlight and elevate the African book value chain.

In his comments on the shortlisted candidates, Chair of the Judges, Dr. Wale Okediran, said:

“In line with our mandate to ‘judge the book as a physical object while also paying attention to its editorial work, including topical relevance and editorial risk,’ we have been able to produce a shortlist of five books which we believe have met the required standard of exceptional work and professionalism. The five finalists were drawn from a highly competitive process that involved 85 applications for published books from 45 publishers and 10 countries across Africa.”

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The Canex Prize for Publishing in Africa Shortlist are:

• Cassava Republic Press (Nigeria) – Female Fear Factory: Unravelling Patriarchy’s Culture of Violence by Pumla Dineo Gqola
• Jacana Media (South Africa) – Paperless by Buntu Siwisa
• Kachifo Limited (Nigeria) – Half Hour Hara by Ugo Anidi
• La Case des Lucioles (Côte d’Ivoire) – Reine Or by Fatou Sy
• Masobe Books (Nigeria) – When We Were Fireflies by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim

The publisher of the Best Trade Book will receive a cash prize of US$20,000 during the CANEX WKND 2024. Each of the four finalists will receive US$2,000 . The ultimate aim is to create a vibrant and educated class of creatives and entrepreneurs to whom Afreximbank may offer financial support in fulfilment of its mandate to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade.

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Canex will award the most deserving trade book published in the given year to reward “trade” publishers working on the continent. CANEX WKND 2024 will take place from 16 to 19 October in Algiers, Algeria.

Registration is free and open on the Canex Africa X (FKA Twitter) Page.