Winners of the 2020 Nommo Awards announced
On October 25, the winners of the 2020 Nommo Awards for Speculative Fiction was announced. The announcement was done in the course of the virtual Ake festival and the awards presented by Tade Thompson, past winner of the Ilube Nommo Award and the Clarke Award, Chinelo Onwualu, co-founder Omenana Magazine, Mame Bougouma Diene, author and ASFS officer, and Setor Fiadzigbey, co-winner of the 2018 Nommo Award for best comic.
Suyi-Davies Okungbowa’s David Mogo, Godhunter was announced to be the winner of the 2020 Ilube Nommo Award for Best Novel, from a highly competitive shortlist that had Booker Prize shortlisted Old Drift by Namwali Serpell, Masande Ntshanga’s Triangulum, Nerine Dorman’s Sing Down The Stars, seasoned winner Tade Thompson’s Rosewater Insurrection and Tochi Onyebuchi’s War Girls.
Best Speculative Novella was awarded to Wole Tolabi’s Incompleteness Theories, over Caldon Mull’s Weatherman and Kerstin Hall’s The Border Keeper.
Best Speculative Short Story was jointly won by Sin Eater by Caine Prize finalist, Chikodili Emelumadu and Ada Nnadi’s Tiny Bravery. They emerged victors from a shortlist that had the following titles: Deji Bryce Olukotun’s Between The Dark and The Dark, Ivana Akotowaa Ofori’s Principles of Balance, Suyi Davies Okungbowa’s The Haunting of 13 Oluwo Street and Wole Talabi’s When We Dream We Are God.
DANFO by Morakinyo Araoye, and Steven Akinyemi (authors) Ogim Ekpezu (artist) won the Best Graphic Novel/Comic category. Shortlisted titles include: Beast From Venus by Kiprop Kimutai (author) and Salim Busuru (artist), Captain South Africa by Bill Masuku, Hawi by Beserat Debebe (author) and Stanley Obende (artist) Kami by Mika Hirwa (author and artist), Nani by Ziki Nelson (author) Jason Lamy (artist), Sanu by Charles Sentongo (author and artist) and Welcome To Dead World by Bill Masuku (author and artist).
The Nommo Awards were established in 2016 to recognise and award speculative fictions by African writers. Members of the African Speculative Fiction Society first nominate and then vote for the winners.
All four awards are sponsored by Tom Illube whom the Illube award is named after. This year’s was additionally funded by Africa Storybundle from Apex Publications and Shadreck Chikoti.
