The CANEX Prize for Publishing has announced a five-book shortlist for its 2026 edition, featuring works by Akin Adesokan, Naa-Adei Kotey, Chitra Nagarajan, Bento Baloi and Lee Johnson.
Selected by a three-member jury, chaired by Nigerian author and academic Professor Aderemi Raji-Oyelade, alongside South African literary scholar Professor Polo Moji and Kenyan poet and broadcaster Khainga O’Okwemba, the shortlisted books are:
- South Side by Akin Adesokan, Parresia Publishers.
- Sumanguru: Sorcerer King of Sosso by Naa-Adei Kotey, Masobe Books.
- The World Was in Our Hands: Voices from the Boko Haram Conflict, written and edited by Chitra Nagarajan, Cassava Republic Press
- Beneath the Scar by Bento Baloi, translated by Sandra Tamele, Editora Trinta Zero Nove.
- Mixing Memory & Desire by Lee Johnson, Ian Randle Publishers.
The five titles were selected from a 13-book longlist announced on October 6. The longlist included books from publishers across Africa and the Caribbean, and they are:
- South Side by Akin Adesokan, Parresia Publishers Limited
- Sumanguru: Sorcerer King of Sosso by Naa-Adei Kotey, illustrated by Enkush Sergelen, Masobe Books
- The Bone River by Nkereuwem Albert, Ouida Books
- The Mercy Step by Marcia Hutchinson, Cassava Republic Press
- The World Was in Our Hands: Voices from the Boko Haram Conflict by Chitra Nagarajan, Cassava Republic Press
- An Unconquerable Spirit: The Indigenous Resistance to Colonisation in the Caribbean Windward Islands by Helen Pauline Francis-Seaman, edited by Alan Cobley, Ian Randle Publishers Ltd
- Beneath the Scar by Bento Baloi, translated by Sandra Tamele, Editora Trinta Zero Nove
- Born at the End of the World by Donica Merhazion, eKitabu LLC
- End & Beginning by Athol Williams, Karavan Press
- Mixing Memory & Desire: How History Shaped the Foods of the Caribbean by Lee Johnson, Ian Randle Publishers Ltd
- From London to Jos: A British Man’s 60-year Journey to Becoming Nigerian by David Jowitt, Masobe Books
- التاريخ السري المعلن لآدم حواء by Rozzi Djiddi, Sefsafa Culture & Publishing
- Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business by Femi Otedola, FO Books Publishing Ltd
The CANEX Prize for Publishing recognises publishers for their work in producing and distributing books, with judging criteria covering editorial quality, book design and production, innovation, distribution and cultural impact. The prize is part of the Creative Africa Nexus programme of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
The winner will receive $20,000, while each of the other four shortlisted publishers will receive $2,000. The 2026 prize has expanded its eligibility to publishers from Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states, extending its reach beyond Africa.
The winner is scheduled to be announced during CANEX WKND 2026, which will take place in Lagos, Nigeria, from November 5 to 8.
Congratulations to all shortlisted writers!
