The Locus Science Fiction Foundation has announced the top ten finalists in each category of the 2024 Locus Awards.
Among the ten finalists in each category are: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Ghanaian-American), Wole Talabi (Nigerian), Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Nigerian), Eugen Bacon (Tanzanian-Australian), Pjali Clark, (Egyptian-American), Nnedi Okorafor (Nigerian-American), Tobi Ogundiran (Nigerian), Premee Mohamed (South African), Moses Ose Utomi (Nigerian), Uchechukwu Nwaka (Nigerian), Chinelo Onwalu (Nigerian) making the Africans proud once again.
The selected Africans and books in their categories are:
FIRST NOVEL
- Chain-Gang All-Stars, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
- Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon, Wole Talabi
NOVELLA
- The Lies of the Ajungo, Moses Ose Utomi
NOVELETTE
- What I Remember of Oresha Moon Dragon Devshrata, P. Djèlí Clark
- At Every Door a Ghost, Premee Mohamed
- The Rainbow Bank, Uchechukwu Nwaka
SHORT STORY
- How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub, P. Djèlí Clark
- Stones, Nnedi Okorafor
COLLECTION
- Jackal, Jackal, Tobi Ogundiran
- No One Will Come Back For Us, Premee Mohamed
ANTHOLOGY
- Mothersound: The Sauútiverse Anthology, Wole Talabi (editor)
- The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction (2022), Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki & Eugen Bacon & Milton Davis, eds
NON FICTION
- Ex Marginalia: Essays on Writing Speculative Fiction by Persons of Color, Chinelo Onwualu
The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine Locus, a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the plaques awarded to the winners, publishers of winning works are honoured with certificates, which is unique in the field.
The Locus Awards winners will be announced June 22, 2024, during the in-person Locus Awards Ceremony, held in the historic Nile Hall at Preservation Park in downtown Oakland, California.
Congratulations to all finalists!
Bongiwe T. Maphosa
Bongiwe Maphosa is a writer whose fiction and poetry offers fresh, imaginative perspectives on the human condition. Her work has been published in prominent literary spaces, including Isele Magazine, Akowdee Magazine, the AVBOB Poetry Anthology, Journal of African Youth in Literature (JAY Lit), and more. She was also nominated for the 2025 Best of the Net Anthology. Bongiwe is one of six writers selected for the inaugural Caine Prize Online Editing program and serves as a content writer, peer reviewer, and tier three awards judge for JAYLit. Bridging inner reflection with speculative worlds, she continues to carve out a distinctive voice within contemporary African literature for a growing global audience.
