The Caine Prize for African Writing has announced Nadia Davids as the winner of the 2024 Caine Prize for African Writing. 

Her winning story,  Bridling, published in The Georgia Review in 2023, was described as outstanding. Additionally, Chika Unigwe, the Chair of Judges for the 2024 Caine Prize, said:

“Bridling is an impressive achievement, a triumph of language, storytelling and risk-taking while maintaining a tightly controlled narrative about women who rebel. It embodies the spirit of the Caine Prize, which is to celebrate the richness and diversity of short stories by African writers. That is to say, to challenge the single story of African literature.”

Nadia Davids currently joins the Caine Prize winners such as:

• Senegalese writers Mame Bougouma Diene & Woppa Diallo (2023),
• Kenyan writer Idza Luhumyo (2022),
• Ethiopian-American writer Meron Hadero (2021),
• and Nigerian-British writer Irenosen Okjie (2020).

She will receive the prestigious £10,000 Caine Prize, in addition to having her work featured in the 2024 Caine Prize Anthology, Midnight In the Morgue and Other Stories published by Cassava Republic Press. The runners-up will receive a prize of £500 and will also be featured in the Anthology. 

The 2024 Caine Prize For African Writing Shortlist includes:

• Tryphena Yeboah (Ghana) for ‘The Dishwashing Women’, Narrative Magazine (Fall 2022)

• Samuel Kolawole (Nigeria) for ‘Adjustment of Status’, New England Review, Vol. 44, #3 (Summer 2023)

• Uche Okonkwo (Nigeria) for ‘Animals’, ZYZZYVA (2024)

• Pemi Aguda (Nigeria) for ‘Breastmilk’, One Story, Issue #227 (2021)

Read about the winners from the years 2019, 2017 and 2013. 

According to the Caine PrizePage, this year’s competition witnessed 320 entries spanning 28 African countries vying for the coveted prize. This marks a significant milestone in the Caine Prize’s history as it enters its 25th year. 

Congratulations to Nadia Davids. Read her winning story here.