Prime
Ugandan author nominated for Canex Prize
Martha Kyoshaba's book: Widows Wear Lipstick: Navigating Grief and Finding Meaning After Loss
What you need to know:
- Her title—Widows Wear Lipstick: Navigating Grief and Finding Meaning After Loss—is joined by a dozen others.
The longlist for the inaugural Canex Prize for Publishing in Africa has been announced. The prize recognises the publisher of the best African fiction or non-fiction title.
It is open to writers from all over the African continent, with submissions reviewed by a team of experienced judges to select a long list before being narrowed down to the best works.
A project of the African Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) Book Factory and Narrative Landscape Press Limited, the jury for this edition has some big shots.
These include Dr Wale Okediran (chair), Edwige-Renée Dro, and Ashraf Aboul-Yazid. The three went through the entries and a longlist was made public on August 15.
The longlist of standout publishers, editors, authors, and books the jury feels is shaping the future of our literature features Martha Kyoshaba Twinamasiko, (PhD), academic registrar of Mbarara University of Science and Technology.
Her title—Widows Wear Lipstick: Navigating Grief and Finding Meaning After Loss—is joined by a dozen others. These include The Presidents… From Mandela to Ramaphosa, Leadership in the Age of Crisis by Richard Calland and Mabel Sithole (Penguin Random House South Africa); Reine Or by Fatou Sy (Les Case Des Lucioles); The Beautiful Side of the Moon by Leye Adenle (Ouida Books); Female Fear Factory: Unveiling Patriarchy’s Culture of Violence by Pumla Dineo Gqola (Cassava Republic Press); The Lion’s Historian: Archiving Africa’s Animal Past by Sandra Swart (Jacana Media); Sanya by Oyin Olugbile (Masobe Books) and Avenues By Train by Farai Mudzingwa (Cassava Republic Press).
Others are Paperless by Buntu Siwisa (Jacana Media); When We Were Fireflies by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (Masobe Books); Peaches and Smeets by Ashti Juggath (Modjaji Books); Half Hour Hara by Ugo Anidi (Kachifo); and African Odyssey of a Lebanese Immigrant… An Autobiography of Sorts by Dr Habib Jaafar (Bookcraft).
The judges will present a shortlist of five finalists in September. A $20,000 (about Shs76m) cash prize will be awarded to the publisher of the best trade book at the Canex Weekend (WKND) 2024 in Algiers, Algeria, from October 16 to 19. The remaining four finalists will each receive $2,000 (Shs7.6m) in prize money.
The prize is a part of the Canex Book Factory. The Canex Book Factory is an annual programme of events of the Canex initiative of the Afreximbank that is designed to spotlight and elevate the African book value chain through a Pan-African writing workshop, an e-newsletter highlighting African literature and the prize for publishing in Africa. This will culminate in the award ceremony at the CANEX WKND.
The Canex Book Factory, a key intervention under the Canex programme, aims to promote a vibrant literary culture across Global Africa and encourage the development of a sustainable business ecosystem in the literary sector.
Canex was launched in 2020 by Afreximbank as a key driver for development and job creation in Africa, having recognised the relevance and opportunities provided by the cultural and creative industries.
By supporting the enabling environment for various creative sectors like fashion, music, film, art, literature, gastronomy, and sport; Canex seeks to support the advancement and expansion of the creative and cultural economy, both within Africa and the diaspora, utilising various financial and non-financial tools and initiatives.
