ABOUT THE PRIZE
Who We Are
Since 2000, the Caine Prize has stood at the centre of African literature — celebrating the short story as a form, and the writers who are reshaping how the world reads the continent.
THE CAINE PRIZE DINNER & AWARD CEREMONY - LONDON 2023
The Caine Prize for African Writing is the foremost international literary prize for a short story by an African author.
For more than two decades the Caine Prize has discovered and championed writers from across the continent and its diaspora — bringing bold, original short stories to readers around the world, and opening doors that last a lifetime.
PURPOSE
To champion, celebrate and reward the finest short fiction by African writers.
VISION
To ensure that the world hears and engages with writers from Africa now and in the future.
MISSION
To encourage and amplify the richness and diversity of African writing through our award, programmes and partnerships.
ON AFRICAN WRITING
“I believe a literary prize for African writers will show the creative spirit of Africa and her humanity more globally.”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
IMPACT
£10K
Awarded to the winning writer each year, plus £500 to every shortlisted author.
300+
Writers published and championed across twenty-five years of the Prize.
10
Winners have gone on to publish debut novels.
Our Team
Susi Owusu
Interim Director
Ajoke Bodunde
Administrative Assistant
Our Board
Ellah Wakatama OBE, Hon. FRSL
Chair of the Board of Trustees
Alicia Adams
Trustee
Nii Ayikwei Parkes
Trustee
Simiso Velempini
Trustee
Olubukola Adejoke Akinyemi
Trustee
Professor Fareda Banda
Trustee
PATRONS & AMBASSADORS
In Our Corner
Distinguished writers and thinkers who lend their voice and reputation to the Prize.
VICE PRESIDENT
Sir Ben Okri OBE, Hon. FRSL
PATRONS
J M Cotzee
Wole Soyinka
Nadine Gordimer
Naguib Mahfouz
HISTORY OF THE PRIZE
A Short History
2000
Named in memory of Sir Michael Caine, Chairman of Booker PLC. The first Caine Prize is awarded and quickly becomes Africa's leading literary award.
2003
The annual writers' workshop begins, extending the Prize into programmes that nurture and develop the skills of writers.
2015
Lusaka Punk and Other Stories marks fifteen years of shortlisted writing from across the African continent and diaspora.
2025
Twenty-five years on, the Prize celebrates a quarter-century of amplifying African writers and their stories.