The Evaristo Prize for African Poetry has announced its shortlist for 2024, showcasing the continent’s diverse poetic talent.
The Evaristo Prize is an annual prize of $1,500 awarded to ten poems written by an African poet. The poetry book fund promotes and advances the development and publication of the poetic arts through its book series, contests, workshops, and seminars and through its collaborations with publishers, festivals, booking agents, colleges, universities, conferences, and all other entities that share an interest in the poetic arts of Africa.
Established first as the Brunel International African Poetry Prize (BIAPP) in 2012 by British-Nigerian writer Bernardine Evaristo, who founded and managed the prize for ten years. The Evaristo Prize was renamed and passed on to be managed by the African Poetry Book Fund (APBF) in 2022. A close partner of APBF, the BIAPP sought to “encourage a new generation of poets who might one day become an international presence.”
The excellence of BIAPP winners continues to be celebrated globally as many of the poets have gone on to publish chapbooks, and full-length poetry collections, and win more prizes.
This year’s shortlist features these remarkable African poets:
- Derek Ehiorobo for “And God Said,”
- Nkateko Masinga for “Self-portrait in Utopia and Other Poems,”
- Kyle Okeke for “Butterflies,”
- chisaraokwu for “The Wake Holding, Mmiri,” and
- Wale Ayinla for “How to Live in Denial.”
The APBF will announce the winner of the prestigious award in May of 2024.
We congratulate the shortlisted poets and wish them the best of luck!
Visit the APBF’s official website at www.africanpoetrybf.unl.edu for more information regarding the prize.
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.
