Isele Magazine has announced the longlists for its prestigious Isele Prizes. Now in its fourth year, the initiative continues to recognize exceptional short stories, essays, and poems published in the magazine. This year, over 250 works competed for recognition across the prize categories.
The longlists showcase the best of the magazine’s literary offerings, reflecting a diverse range of voices and perspectives. With ten works selected per category, below are the longlists according to their categories:
The Isele Short Story Prize
- “Koala, Koala, Koala” by Chantelle Chiwetalu
- “Matrimony” by Adams Adeosun
- “Gone Case” by Duboree Das
- “Sports Ball” by Nathaniel Krenkel
- “Flowers in Bloom” by Lucia Edafioka
- “The Place of the Rainbow” by Rutendo Chidzodzo
- “Not Like Other Boys” by Josiah Ikpe
- “The Beginning of Bad Things” by Isaac Chika
- “Mothers and Daughters” by Annie Russo
- “In Her Head” by Sarah Durham
The Isele Nonfiction Prize
- “Notes of a Nonresident Alien” by Tolu Daniel
- “Basturma Chronicles” by Maria Baha
- “Some Seasons I Have Known” by Kemi Falodun
- “A Study in Red” by Kharys Ateh Laue
- “On Accent and Confidence” by Idowu Odeyemi
- “When The Knife Cuts” by Paul Chuks
- “Womb and Period Hu(r)ts” by Muti’ah Badruddeen
- “How to Murder a Voice” by Orji Victor Ebubechukwu
- “Totally Atwood” by Anthony J. Mohr
- “everything I know about genocide, part three” by Erica Rivera
The Isele Poetry Prize
- ‘Five Poems’ by Jennifer E Hudgens
- ‘Three Poems’ by Fatima Abdullahi
- ‘Two Poems’ by Shauna AV Gunnell
- ‘Three Poems’ by Daniel Seifert
- ‘Two Poems’ by Connor Watkins-Xu
- ‘Three Poems’ by Jonathan Langdon
- ‘Kpo Fire’ by Marvellous Igwe
- ‘Three Poems’ by D Larissa Peters
- ‘Three Poems’ by Elly Katz
- ‘Two Poems’ by Purbasha Roy
The shortlists for the Isele Prizes will be revealed on May 16, 2025, narrowing each category to five or six works. The winners will be announced on June 20, 2025, with each receiving $150. Additionally, shortlisted works will be featured in the upcoming print issue of Best of Isele, scheduled for publication in spring 2026.
Congratulations to all longlisted authors!
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
