It’s that time of the year when Sundress Publications accepts nominations for its annual Best of the Net anthology. For the first time in our history, the Journal of African Youth Literature (JAY Lit) is sending in nominations from works we published within the period in review—July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. Our nominees for the 2025 Best of the Net are a strong mix of poetry and prose from writers from all over Africa. The nominees are as follows:
- “Firefly” by Gabriel Awuah Mainoo (Poetry)
- “The Architecture of Happiness” by Faith Brown (Poetry)
- “The So-Called Free” by Kaushar Edoo Bibi Auleear (Poetry)
- “Far-Away Nearby” by Sarah True (Poetry)
- “Owuri” by Anita Oguni (Poetry)
- “iSango” by Shuwa (Poetry)
- “The Way Home” by Bongiwe T. Maphosa (Short Story)
- “The Oddity” by Aishat Adesanya (Short Story)
All the nominated pieces are from JAY Lit Issue 6 which was released in January 2024, as it is the only issue we published within the period in review—July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.
The Best of the Net is an awards-based anthology designed to grant a platform to a diverse and growing collection of writers and publishers who are building an online literary landscape that seeks to break free of traditional publishing. It was created by Sundress Publications to bring greater respect to the continually expanding world of exceptional digital publishing. The project was started in 2006, Erin Elizabeth Smith, Sundress Publications‘ founding editor. It aims to gather communities of online literary magazines, journals, and individuals that do the work of creating our digital literary landscape, an effort in decentering the literary canon as well as promoting and amplifying voices that are imperative to good literature, responsible culture, and the understanding of today’s social climate.
Congratulations to all our nominees! We wish them the best of luck as Sundress Publications gets down to the business of picking the 2025 winners for the Best of the Net anthology.
