Longlist of 2020 Short Story Day Africa Prize Announced
The longlist of 2020 Short Story Day Africa Prize has been announced. It features 21 African writers from nine countries.
The 2020 Short Story Day Africa Prize opened for submissions on 1 June 2019 and closed 31 October 2019. African writers were invited to submit fictions between 3000 — 5000 words on the theme “Disruption” and stand a chance of winning $800 for First prize, $200 for Second prize and $100 for Third prize.
The 21 longlisted stories will be collected in an anthology titled, Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa and edited by Rachel Zadok, founder of Short Story Day Africa and author of Sister-Sister and Gem Squash Tokoloshe.
“This year, as always, the first round of reading was blind. An experienced team of editors read with a keen eye for original writing that exhibited ingenuity and a strong voice. We couldn’t have foreseen the disruptions that Covid-19 would cause, from team members contracting the virus, to not being able to access funding, to key team members who volunteer their time no longer being able to dedicate the many hours it takes to put together a longlist due to no longer having secure incomes,” Zadok commented.
“The list this year features stories from across the continent. We’re especially excited to be publishing stories from Libya and Sierra Leone, both firsts for Short Story Day Africa. We’re also thrilled to be publishing our first-ever translated story, ‘Armando’s Virtuous Crime’ by Najwa Bin Shatwan, brilliantly translated from Arabic into English by Sawad Hussain,” She continued.
The 21 longlisted writers and their stories include:
- ‘A Defiant Departure’ by MacSmart Ojiludu – Nigeria
- ‘Another Zombie Story’ by Kanyinsola Olorunnisola – Nigeria
- ‘Armando’s Virtuous Crime’ by Najwa Bin Shatwan translated in to English by Sawad Hussain – Libya
- ‘Before the Rains Came’ by Nadia Ahidjo-Iya – Cameroon
- ‘Before We Die Unwritten’ by Innocent Ilo – Nigeria
- ‘Between the Hard Earth and Dry Heaven’ by Melusi Nkomo – Zimbabwe
- ‘Dɔrə’s Song’ by Victor Forna – Sierra Leone
- ‘Enough’ by Nicholas Dawn – South Africa
- ‘The Fishtank Crab’ by Genna Gardini – South Africa
- ‘The Girl Named Uku/phaza/mi/se/ka’ by Philisiwe Twijnstra – South Africa
- ‘The Girl Who Always Laughed’ by Doreen Anyango – Uganda
- ‘Kin’ by Masiyaleti Mbewe – Zambia
- ‘Laatlammer’ by Julia Louw – South Africa
- ‘Lycaon Pictus’ by Liam Brickhill – Zimbabwe
- ‘The Mother’ by Jacob M’hango – Zambia
- ‘Objects in the Mirror Are Stranger Than They Appear’ by Kevin Mogotsi – Botswana
- ‘Shelter’ by Mbozi Haimbe – Zambia
- ‘The Sound of Betrayal’ by Idza Luhumyo – Botswana
- ‘Static’ by Alithnayn Abdulkareem – Nigeria
- ‘Waiting to Die’ by Yefon Isabelle – Cameroon
- ‘When the Levees Break’ by Edwin Okolo – Nigeria
The shortlist – first, second, and third place – will be announced in 2021.
Short Story Day Africa recognises short story writers across the continent while also helping to increase their skills sets with workshops. Previous winners of the Short Story Day Africa Prize include Adam El Shalakany (2018), Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor (2017), Sibongile Fisher (2016), Cat Hellisen (2015), Diane Awerbuck (2014), and Okwiri Oduor (2013).
