The Afritondo Short Story Prize has announced its 2021 shortlist. The five stories were picked from a longlist of 16, after three weeks of “intense deliberations” by the judges Edwige Dro, Maneo Mohale, and Kiprop Kimutai.
2020 marked the inaugural year for the prize, which takes its name from the arts magazine Afritondo. Writers were invited to submit stories with overtones of “Love.” The judges were Megan Ross, Kelechi Njoku, and Gloria Mwaniga. The South African writer Jared Thompson won for his story “A Good Help Is Hard to Find.”
Here is the 2021 shortlist:
- Rémy Ngamije (Namibia), “The Prayer, The Hope, and The Anthem (Or, The Fall So Far)”
- Faraaz Mahomed (South Africa), “Gracious”
- Justin Clement (Nigeria), “Human Cities”
- Desta Haile (UK/ Eritrea), “Ethio-Cubano”
- Joshua Chizoma (Nigeria), “Collector of Memories”
“Afritondo is committed to supporting and providing a platform for African writers,” the prize organizers told OPEN COUNTRY MAG. “This year’s short story prize was centred on Identity, and we received a lot of amazing writing that reflected the diversity and talents of African writers around the world. In choosing a shortlist, the judges selected stories that were original, well crafted, and reflected the theme of the prize.”
On Friday, March 26, there will be an online event to announce the winner of this year’s prize. The winner will receive $1,000 and the four other shortlisted writers will get $100 each. All the longlisted stories will be featured in an anthology by the magazine.
