[London, UK] – After a year-long celebration of its 25th anniversary, the Caine Prize for African Writing returns for its 26th edition, marking the beginning of a new quarter-century dedicated to platforming African literary talent across the Continent and the diaspora. Building on this legacy, the Caine Prize is pleased to announce its Chair of Judges, who will guide the panel in selecting the five shortlisted writers and the eventual winner of the prestigious award. The shortlisted stories and their authors will be announced on 1 September 2026, with the winner revealed at an award ceremony later that month. Entries to the Prize close at midnight on 27 February 2026.
This year’s Chair of Judges is Nigerian journalist, broadcaster, and documentary maker, Bola Mosuro. Mosuro started her career in the African development sector, working for the NGO Institute of African Alternatives and as a board member for Akina Mama Wa Afrika. For over three decades, Mosuro was a familiar voice for BBC World Service listeners, presenting on Network Africa, Focus on Africa and Newsday. She’s produced various programmes and documentaries including ‘The Story of Africa’, a radio history series for the BBC. More recently, she appears as presenter of the Loftus Media documentary, ‘Shepherd’s Eye in the Sky’ produced for the BBC World Service (forthcoming, 31 January 2026), in which she speaks with pastoralists across East and West Africa about climate solutions. As a narrator, Mosuro is the host of ODI/SPARC podcast series ‘Dynamic Drylands’ focusing on the nomadic peoples and rangelands of Africa. This year sees the launch of her own podcast, ‘Breaking Bread with Bola.’
Commenting on her appointment as Chair of Judges, Mosuro remarked: “I'm honoured to be this year’s Chair of Judges for the Caine Prize, joining a long list of luminaries who've presided over Africa's most prestigious literary award. Over the past twenty-five years, the Prize has spotlighted exceptional authors with unique voices and styles, many of whom have gone on to forge wonderful literary careers. The Caine Prize has acted as a springboard – propelling them to a continent-wide and global stage.”
On Mosuro’s selection as Chair of the 2026 Panel, Ellah Wakatama OBE (Hon) FRSL, Chair of the Prize, said: “The Prize’s formal introduction to Bola Mosuro took place at the inaugural Word Across Waters: Afro Literary Festival last autumn in London, where she chaired a panel discussion titled ‘Celebrating 25 Years of the Caine Prize.’ The conversation featured 2004 winner Brian Chikwava, two-time shortlisted writers Billy Kahora and myself. We all marvelled at the mastery with which Mosuro shaped the discussion, and it was immediately clear that she would be an excellent choice to chair the judges for this significant award season, marking the Prize’s entry into its next quarter-century.
“Mosuro’s deep love for arts and culture, and her passion for championing literature from the Continent, are evident in her distinguished career in the media industry. She is joined by four outstanding figures in their own right, drawn from different creative fields and reflecting the multidisciplinary expertise the Prize celebrates. We are excited for the season ahead and look forward to completing the announcement for our 2026 Panel of Judges soon.”
The judges will meet in September to select a winner from the five shortlisted authors and announce the winner in an award ceremony held in September 2026.
Each writer shortlisted for the Caine Prize will be awarded £500, and the winner will receive a £10,000 prize. If a work in translation is chosen as the winning story, the prize will be split 70% to the author and 30% to the translator.
The five shortlisted stories will be compiled into the official Caine Prize anthology and published alongside stories from the live workshop to be held this spring.
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Media Contact: comms@caineprize.com
About The Caine Prize for African Writing
The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual award for African creative writing. The Prize is awarded for a short story by an African writer published in English (indicative length 3,000 to 10,000 words). The Caine Prize for African Writing is named after the late Sir Michael Caine, former Chairman of Booker plc and Chairman of the Booker Prize management committee for nearly 25 years. The African winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Wole Soyinka and J M Coetzee, are Patrons of The Caine Prize. Ellah Wakatama OBE (Hon) FRSL is the Chair.
An African writer is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, or who is a national of an African country, or who has a parent who is African by birth or nationality. Works translated into English from other languages are not excluded, provided they have been published in translation, and should such a work win, a proportion of the prize would be awarded to the translator.
Previous winners are Sudan’s Leila Aboulela (2000), Nigerian, Helon Habila (2001), Kenyan, Binyavanga Wainaina (2002), Kenyan, Yvonne Owuor (2003), Zimbabwean, Brian Chikwava (2004), Nigerian, Segun Afolabi (2005), South African, Mary Watson (2006), Ugandan, Monica Arac de Nyeko (2007), South African, Henrietta Rose-Innes (2008), Nigerian, EC Osondu (2009), Sierra Leonean, Olufemi Terry (2010), Zimbabwean, NoViolet Bulawayo (2011), Nigerian, Rotimi Babatunde (2012), Nigerian, Tope Folarin (2013), Kenyan, Okwiri Oduor (2014), Zambian, Namwali Serpell (2015), South African, Lidudumalingani (2016), Sudanese writer, Bushra al-Fadil (2017), Kenyan, Makena Onjerika (2018), Nigerian, Lesley Nneka Arimah (2019), Nigerian-British, Irenosen Okojie (2020), Ethiopian, Meron Hadero (2021), Kenyan, Idza Luhumyo (2022), Senegalese, Mame Bougouma Diene and Woppa Diallo (2023), and South African, Nadia Davids (2024).