The Ubwali Hope Prize has announced the mentors and protégés selected for its 2026 Mentorship Programme, a six-month virtual initiative that pairs emerging Zambian writers with established African writers across poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.
Running from July to December, the mentor-led programme supports emerging writers through one-on-one virtual check-ins, discussions on craft, and guidance on writing and submissions. All runners-up to this year’s Ubwali Hope Prize were considered for the programme.
This year’s Ubwali Hope Prize protégés are as follows:
- Bwalya S. Kondwani, shortlisted for his poem Mwaiseni KTK. He will be mentored by Sihle Ntuli.
- Mutinta Nanchengwa, shortlisted for her essay ‘Relearning my Identity.’ She will be mentored by Gloria Mwaniga Odary.
- Natasha Mukamba, shortlisted for her story ‘Solace.’ She will be mentored by Natasha Omokhodion.
About this year’s mentors & protégés
CNF
Mentor
GLORIA MWANIGA ODARY, a writer and educator from Kenya, a writer and educator from Kenya, has an MFA from the University of Memphis, where she was also the managing editor of The Pinch Literary Journal. Odary is fascinated by historical revisionism and the intersection between research and imagination. She is a recipient of the 2024 Georgia Review Prose Prize, the 2024 Isele Nonfiction Prize, the 2021 African Land Policy Centre Story Prize, and a Miles Morland Writing Scholarship. Her work has appeared in The Georgia Review, Isele, Lolwe, Weganda Review, The White Review, Porter House Review, CRAFT, and elsewhere.
Protégé
MUTINTA NANCHENGWA is a writer from Lusaka with a keen eye for human-interest stories. She was shortlisted for the inaugural Kalemba Short Story Prize and nominated for the 2026 Pushcart Prize. Transitioning from feature writing to digital communications, Mutinta now crafts fiction that examines the hearts of humans. She is passionate about digital rights and human rights, and often weaves storytelling into her advocacy work. Whether through journalism or prose, her goal remains the same: to tell stories that matter and explore how we relate to one another. Read Mutinta’s shortlisted essay here.
Poetry
Mentor
SIHLE NTULI is a South African poet, editor, and curator born and living in Durban, South Africa. His writing has been supported through fellowships and residencies by the Johannesburg Institute of Advanced Studies in South Africa, The Centre for Stories in Australia, The Caselberg Trust, in collaboration with the Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature in New Zealand, and Literaturhaus Wien in Austria. He is a 2024 Best of the Net winner and the winner of the 2024/2025 Diann Blakely Poetry Competition. His most recent release is the poetry collection Owele (2025), published by uHlanga.
Protégé
BWALYA S. KONDWANI is a Zambian writer, spoken word poet, and medical student at the University of Lusaka. He won the 2023 Myaambo Short Story Prize for Mzimu Wachikondi, later featured in an anthology of the same name, and the 2025 Stanley Umezulike Prize for African Thriller. He was also placed third in the 2025 Wakini Kuria Prize for Children’s Literature at the African Writers Awards. His work has appeared in several anthologies and literary magazines, including Ubwali Literary Magazine, Asterlit, Writers Space Africa, Sotrane Publishers, and MUD Journal. Beyond the page, Bwalya works with The Expression Lab, helping facilitate creative writing and spoken word workshops for students across Zambia. His work often explores human vulnerability, memory, and the emotional weight of lived experience. Read Bwalya’s shortlisted poem here.
Fiction
Mentor
NATASHA OMOKHODION holds an MA (distinction) in Creative Writing from Kingston University London. Her debut novel, No Be From Hia, was selected as a Graywolf Africa Press finalist in 2019. Published in Zambia, the book has reached readers across multiple international markets. Her second book, Even if the Stars Should Fall, was acquired by Narrative Landscape Press. She has served on the judging panels for both the Afritondo and Kendeka Prizes. Her short fiction has appeared in Hotel Africa (Short Story Day Africa) and Relations (Harper Via). Natasha’s short story “Her Sweetie, Her Sugarcane” was shortlisted for the N’goma Award in 2023. Natasha teaches creative writing classes with a focus on bringing diverse voices to the Zambian literary landscape. She lives and works in Lusaka with her three children.
Protégé
NATASHA N. MUKAMBA is a Zambian writer and storyteller. Her work explores love, the complexities of family, and the emotional landscapes of African womanhood. She is the author of Bits and Pieces, a 2025 COPPA Book Award–nominated nonfiction book for young women, for which she was a runner-up. Natasha’s fiction and essays appear in Ponmo is a Bird That Has No Place in a Cultured Culinary Sky and Other Stories (Noisy Streets), Alone and Other Short Stories, the Sister Wives Anthology (Myaambo), and WOMEN’S WORDS: Experiences and Realities (The African Dialogue). She has been featured on The Girl Table’s GT Story Project, The Stripes Literary Magazine, and other platforms. In 2025, Natasha received the Frances Ogamba Scholarship for African Writers from Ubwali Literary Magazine. She was honoured with the Creative Woman Award in Literary Arts at the HER Night Awards in Lusaka. Read Natasha’s shortlisted story here.
Congratulations, Gloria Mwaniga Odary, Sihle Ntuli, Natasha Omokhodion, Mutinta Nanchengwa, Bwalya S. Kondwani, and Natasha N. Mukamba!
