The Afritondo Short Story Prize has unveiled its 2025 longlist, featuring 15 writers selected from a competitive pool of over 500 submissions from 34 countries.
Established to amplify underrepresented voices, the Afritondo Short Story Prize has become a significant platform for emerging writers. Each year, the prize attracts hundreds of submissions, with judges carefully selecting stories that showcase creativity, originality, and literary excellence.
Selected by judges Rémy Ngamije; Ama Asantewa Diaka and Umar Turaki, this year’s selected writers and their stories are:
- Efua Boadu – The Twenty-Eighth Day (United Kingdom / Ghana)
- Rigwell Addison Asiedu – The Masque of Transfiguration (Ghana)
- Olivia Adekola – Seasons (Nigeria / United States)
- Ekpenyong Kosisochukwu – The Country of Moths (Nigeria)
- Emelda Nyaradzai Gwitimah – Bible Blues (Zimbabwe / Canada)
- Jen Thorpe – Waiting for a Sign (South Africa)
- Olufunmilayo Makinde – Elect (Nigeria)
- Baaba Tekyi-Mensah – This is How to Stay Alive (Ghana)
- Anisha Namutowe – The Weight of a Legacy (Zambia)
- Yvonne Zabu Wamara – Pineapple (Uganda)
- Nzube Nlebedim – The Coy Smile of Birds (Nigeria)
- Mustapha Enesi – Mrs Coker and the Headless Masquerade (Nigeria)
- Gift Nyoni – Heat (Zimbabwe / United Kingdom)
- Hussani Abdurahim – Spider Girl (Nigeria)
- Zoe Ngombane – To My Right, the Ocean, to My Left, the Hills (South Africa)
Over the years, the Afritondo Prize has played a crucial role in fostering emerging talent within the literary space, providing not only recognition but also opportunities for global readership.
The shortlisted stories will be announced on April 18, with the final winner revealed on May 9. Additionally, the longlisted stories will be published in an anthology later this year, further cementing the prize’s role in elevating new literary voices.
For more information on the prize and updates on the shortlist and winner announcement, click here.
Congratulations to everyone who made the list!
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
