The Department of English at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), in collaboration with its Creative Writers’ Club, has announced the longlist for the inaugural Professor Moussa Traoré Poetry Prize.
Established to honour Professor Moussa Traoré, Head of the Department of English at UCC, the prize celebrates emerging poetic voices that engage with questions of Black history, identity, migration, memory, slavery, power, belonging, and the African diaspora.
The 2026 longlist:
- New People by Worlanyo Normanyo, University of Education, Winneba.
- Inherited Fragment by Horsu Godwin, University of Cape Coast.
- Memories by Rauf Tahiru, University of Business and Integrated Development Studies
- Massa by Osae-Koranteng Derrick, University of Cape Coast.
- Maybe Kumbaya as a dirge by Karen Sedinam Dzorgbo, University of Ghana.
- I had a name by Daniel Asaomaning, University of Cape Coast.
- My God is Black by Duah Francis, Offinso College of Education.
- A Bitter Bite by Peter Kofi Nyamekye, University of Cape Coast
- My Sister by Eunice Owusu, University of Ghana.
- Rust, No Chains by Davib Bobobee, Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training Entrepreneurial Development.
- An Ode to Olaudah Equiano by Jonathan Tetteh Kwao, University of Cape Coast, CoDE.
The Professor Moussa Traoré Poetry Prize offers cash awards, books, and mentorship opportunities, with judging led by Ghanaian poet and JAY Lit poetry editor Gabriel Awuah Mainoo.
Since opening for submissions earlier this year, the prize has positioned itself as a platform for discovering and supporting new poetic talent within Ghana’s tertiary institutions.
Congratulations to all the longlisted poets!
