The Caine Prize for African Writing has announced the panel of judges for its 2026 edition, bringing together a diverse group of cultural practitioners whose work spans literature, academia, curatorial practice, theatre, film, and broadcasting.
The 2026 judging panel will be chaired by Nigerian journalist, broadcaster, and documentary maker Bola Mosuro, who was announced last week as Chair of Judges. She will be joined by Ghanaian-American author and editor Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, Sudanese curator and writer Orsod Malik, South African writer and academic Siphiwo Mahala, and Ugandan-British actress, singer, and playwright Sheila Atim.
Speaking on the composition of the panel, Ellah Wakatama, OBE (Hon) FRSL, Chair of the Prize, said:
“Over the years, we have been intentional about challenging the idea that there is such a thing as a ‘Caine Prize story’ and, by extension, an ‘African story.’ One of the ways we have achieved this is by assembling panels of cultural producers from different disciplines, geographies, generations, and lived experiences, united by one purpose: valorising the best short stories being written today. The result is a shortlist that resists expectation and reflects, as one of our judges, Siphiwo Mahala, so beautifully put, a ‘kaleidoscope of contemporary African voices.’”
Moreover, she said:
“As publishers continue to submit work, we invite them to let go of inherited assumptions about what an ‘ideal’ story looks like. We champion boldness – of form, perspective, genre, and themes – and we urge writers to push beyond the familiar edges of their practice. Bola, Nana, Orsod, Siphiwo, and Sheila are unequivocally aligned in this belief, and they are eagerly waiting for your submissions and the stories that will surprise us all.”
Entries for the 2026 Caine Prize close at midnight on 27 February 2026, with the shortlist of five stories and authors set to be announced on 1 September 2026.
About the Chair of Judges
Bola Mosuro began her career in the African development sector, working for the NGO Institute of African Alternatives and as a board member for Akina Mama Wa Afrika. For over three decades, Mosuro was a familiar voice on the BBC World Service, presenting on Network Africa, Focus on Africa, and Newsday.
She’s produced various programmes and documentaries, including ‘The Story of Africa’, a BBC radio history series. More recently, she appears as presenter of the Loftus Media documentary, ‘Shepherd’s Eye in the Sky’, produced for the BBC World Service (forthcoming, 31 January 2026), in which she speaks with pastoralists across East and West Africa about climate solutions. As a narrator, Mosuro hosts the ODI/SPARC podcast series ‘Dynamic Drylands’, which focuses on the nomadic peoples and rangelands of Africa. This year sees the launch of her own podcast, ‘Breaking Bread with Bola.’
About the Judges
Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, a Ghanaian-American author and editor of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry for children, teens, and adults. Her works for young people include the Young Adult novel Powder Necklace and the children’s picture book Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky. For adults, she edited Relations: An Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices and wrote My Parents’ Marriage: A Novel.
Orsod Malik, a Sudani curator of exhibitions and archives, writer, independent researcher, and the Executive Director of the Stuart Hall Foundation. He currently serves as a Trustee at The Common Guild, a visual arts organisation in Glasgow. Malik’s work explores transnational cultural and political entanglements in historical narratives to consider the possibility of shared histories. He is particularly interested in the relationship between social movements, aesthetics, and public education, and their combined role in shaping collective identities. Malik has curated exhibitions and developed programmes for several cultural organisations including, the Stuart Hall Foundation, International Curators Forum (ICF), Black Cultural Archives, Institute of International Visual Arts (iniva), Prince Claus Fund and the British Council.
Siphiwo Mahala, a multi-award-winning South African writer and academic, plying his trade in English and isiXhosa. He is a graduate of the University of Fort Hare, holds a Master’s degree in African Literature from Wits University, and a PhD in English Literature from the University of South Africa. He is the author of the novel, When a Man Cries (2007), which he later translated into isiXhosa as Yakhal’ Indoda (2010). His short story collections include African Delights (2011), Red Apple Dreams and Other Stories (2019), and The Missing Pages (2025). He wrote two critically acclaimed plays, The House of Truth (2016) and Bloke and His American Bantu (2021). His monograph Can Themba: The Making and Breaking of the Intellectual Tsotsi (2022) won the Creative Non-Fiction Award at the South Africa Literary Awards in 2023 and the 2024 Book of the Year at the Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Awards. For two years, he served as the Chair of Judges for the fiction panel of the Sunday Times Literary Awards. He is an Associate Professor in the English Department at the University of Johannesburg.
Sheila Atim MBE, a Ugandan-British actress, singer, composer, and playwright. Film credits include The Woman King (Sony) – earning a BAFTA Rising Star nomination and the Chopard Trophy at Cannes – Doctor Strange & the Multiverse of Madness (Marvel), Mufasa and Pinocchio (Disney), Bruised (TIFF Rising Star Award), Dust Bunny (Thunder Road Pictures), and All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (A24). Television work includes the upcoming Blade Runner 2099 (Amazon/Alcon), The Underground Railroad (Amazon), The Irregulars (Netflix), Harlots (Hulu), and The Pale Horse (BBC/Amazon). On stage, Sheila has appeared in a Shakespeare trilogy at the Donmar Warehouse, Othello at Shakespeare’s Globe, and Constellations at the Donmar, winning the 2022 Olivier Award for Best Actress. She also starred in Girl From the North Country (Old Vic/Noël Coward), earning the 2018 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, as well as multiple major nominations. In addition to acting, Sheila is a composer and a writer, with several film and television projects in development. She holds an MBE for services to drama.
Each shortlisted writer will receive £500, while the overall winner will be awarded £10,000. Where a winning story is a translation, the prize will be split 70% to the author and 30% to the translator. The shortlisted stories will be published in the official Caine Prize anthology alongside work produced at the Prize’s annual workshop.
