The Dublin Literary Award has announced Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu among the nominees for its prestigious 2026 prize.
Widely regarded as the world’s most valuable prize for a single work of fiction—worth €100,000—the award features Ndlovu’s The Creation of Half-Broken People and Adichie’s Dream Count as two of the African novels longlisted this year.
Established in 1994 and sponsored by Dublin City Council, the award promotes excellence in world literature through nominations submitted by public libraries across the globe. If the winning book is a translation, the prize is split: €75,000 goes to the author and €25,000 to the translator.
The 2026 edition includes 69 titles from 36 countries, nominated by 80 libraries worldwide. Adichie’s Dream Count received nominations from Almeida Garrett Municipal Library (Portugal), Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam (Netherlands), and Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Egypt). Ndlovu’s The Creation of Half-Broken People was nominated by the City of Cape Town Library & Information Services in South Africa.
This year’s judging panel includes Nigerian performance poet and cultural administrator Dike Chukwumerije, alongside novelist Xiaolu Guo, former Irish Ambassador Daniel Mulhall, translator Clara Ministral, and writer Disha Bose. Professor Chris Morash serves as the non-voting chairperson.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian writer whose work spans fiction, short stories, and nonfiction, exploring feminism, identity, and postcolonial themes. Her debut novel Purple Hibiscus (2003) won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, while Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) received the Orange Prize. Her 2013 novel Americanah won the US National Book Critics Circle Award and was named one of The New York Times Top Ten Books of the Year. Her works have been translated into more than thirty languages.
Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu is a Zimbabwean novelist, scholar, and filmmaker. She received the 2022 Windham–Campbell Prize for Fiction. Her debut The Theory of Flight won the Sunday Times Barry Ronge Fiction Prize in 2019, while its companions The History of Man and The Quality of Mercy were both shortlisted for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize. After nearly two decades in North America, Ndlovu has returned to her hometown of Bulawayo. The Creation of Half-Broken People is her fourth novel.
The countdown begins as the longlist of up to 20 titles will be announced on February 17, 2026, followed by the shortlist of six on April 7, 2026. The winner will be unveiled on May 21, 2026, during the International Literature Festival Dublin.
Congratulations to Adichie and Ndlovu!
Sarah Adeyemo
Sarah Adeyemo, Swan IX, is a Nigerian poet, writer, editor, spoken word artiste and communication expert. The debut author of “The Shape of Silence”. She draws inspiration from solitude and experiences. She is a fellow of the SprinNG Writing Fellowship. Her works appeared or are forthcoming in Akpata Magazine, The Shallow Tales Review, The Muse Journal, The Weganda Review, Everscribe Magazine, Afrillhill Press, Poems For Persons Interest, TV-63 Magazine, Northern Writers Forum Journal, Eboquills, Rinna Lit. Anthologies, and elsewhere. She tweets @SarahInkspires.
