The winners of the African Writers Awards, African Teen Writers Awards, and the Wakini Kuria Prize for Children’s Literature were announced in Cameroon on November 7, 2022.
The African Writers Awards were conceived by the African Writers Development Trust to shed a light on some of the best emerging writing talents on the continent. Some previous winners have been Manu Herbstein, Maryhilda Ibe, Chiamaka Onu-Okpara, and Benson Mugo in 2018; Eme Ogbu, Temani Nkalolang, Andrea B Matambo, and Priscillar Matara in 2019; Oladejo Oluyemisi, Asoloko Gloria Akayi, and Duru Nneka Joyce in 2020, and Adedoyin Adetutu, Gordon, B. Away, and Makhago Peter in 2021.
The awards this year are judged by Chief Judge Anthony Onugba alongside Nahida Esmail (Tanzania), Gankhanani Moffat Moyo (Zambia), Sabah Carrim (Mauritius), Nabilah Usman (Nigeria), Corona Cermak (Tanzania), Tamunomieibi Enoch (Nigeria), Patricia Peace Ejang (Uganda), Comfort Nyati, SDB (Zimbabwe), Temani Nkalolang (Botswana), Halieo Motanyane (Lesotho) and Namse Udosen (Nigeria).
The longlist for the African Writers Awards 2022, African Teen Writers Awards 2022, and the Wakini Kuria Prize for Children’s Literature 2022 were announced on September 1 before the shortlist was revealed on October 1.
The winners were revealed at the African Writers Conference in Douala, Cameroon. They are;
Creative Nonfiction ($200)
- Let my People Go, Britney Muoghalu (Nigeria)
Drama ($200)
- Dusk To Dawn, Gloria Akayi Asoloko (Nigeria)
Poetry ($200)
- The slums of Mbayani, Temwani Mgunda (Malawi)
Wakini Kuria Prize for Children’s Literature (1st place $200, 2nd place $150, and 3rd place $100)
- Beans Can’t be vegetables, Ogbu Eme (Nigeria)
- Siki and the Bicycle, Blessing Amatemeso (Nigeria)
- Grandma’s Needlework, Joshua Robertson (Ghana)
African Writers Teens Awards
Short Stories ($100)
- My Juicy Life, Testimony Odey (Nigeria)
Poetry ($100)
- It gets Lonely, Nifemi Emmanuel (Nigeria)
