Your go-to site for African writing and literary culture. We bring you all the latest news on publications, authors, events, prizes, and lifestyle.
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Joined July 2010
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✨ BP 100 Notable African Books of 2025 are here! 🎉
27 countries. New voices. Romance + speculative fiction on the rise. African & indie publishers leading the way. In spite of all the challenges, the culture is doing more than just okay👏🏿 Full list 👇📚 brittlepaper.com/100-notable…
We’re celebrating 62 years of Zambian independence with five books that trace the country's past and present through political power, family, and everyday life from @namwalien’s THE OLD DRIFT to Mubanga Kalimamukwento's THE MOURNING BIRD 📚 brittlepaper.com/2026/10/5-e…
Calling Nigerian playwrights! The @sabiartsprize offers ₦1.4 million in awards, including a ₦1,000,000 Grand Prize with full stage production at Ouida Lagos. Submit by Dec. 20 🎭🇳🇬 brittlepaper.com/2026/10/sab…₦1-4-million-in-awards-and-a-full-stage-production-submit-by-20-december/
Congratulations to David Emeka and Anyang Kual Ayai, selected for the National Book Critics Circle's 2026-2027 Emerging Critics cohort! The year-long fellowship nurtures the next generation of book critics through mentorship and community 📚 brittlepaper.com/2026/10/dav…
Congratulations to Tolu Daniel, @Sarabamag’s new Editor-at-Large! The Isele Nonfiction Prize-winning writer will lead the magazine's nonfiction push, commissioning essays, criticism, memoir, and experimental work 🖋️ @iamToluDaniel brittlepaper.com/2026/10/tol…
Victor Ehikhamenor debuts CENTRAL HOTEL, his first fiction collection: 11 interconnected stories, illustrated with pencil drawings, moving between Nigeria and the diaspora. Out October 30 from @masobebooks, with a Lagos launch October 31! ✍🏾 @victorsozaboy brittlepaper.com/2026/10/vic…
Congratulations to Abdulrazak Gurnah, named one of Forbes Africa's 15 Icons for its 15th anniversary! The Nobel-winning author of PARADISE and AFTERLIVES joins Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Burna Boy, and more on the list 📚✨ brittlepaper.com/2026/10/for…
How are African writers responding to AI? PROMPTINGS, a proposed essay collection edited by James Yékú, brings together nearly 30 voices to explore the question, including Helon Habila, Mubanga Kalimamukwento, Emmanuel Iduma, and Ainehi Edoro 📚🤖 brittlepaper.com/2026/10/hel…
Congratulations to @OpeAdedeji_ and Svetlana Chigozie Onye, two Nigerian writers shortlisted for the £1,000 2026 4thWrite Short Story Prize, run by 4th Estate and the Guardian for unpublished writers of colour in the UK and Ireland! ✍🏾 🏆 brittlepaper.com/2026/10/two…
The Center for Fiction in Brooklyn is hosting a four-session reading group on novels by West African women and femmes, led by writer Magenta Naaku. Books include HOMEGOING, NECESSARY FICTION, and DEATH OF THE AUTHOR. First meeting: November 10 📚✨ brittlepaper.com/2026/10/the…
Looking for your next great short story? The 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize shortlist is arriving on adda, with 12 of the 25 stories already published, including three by Nigerian writers @Hussaniabdul4, @OlaposiH, and Dawn Immanuel 📚 brittlepaper.com/2026/10/sho…
"'The Blue Fighter' is my work, and I stand by it completely." Caine Prize winner Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza responds to The Atlantic's AI allegations in a new statement, with a full account of the story's development ✍🏾 brittlepaper.com/2026/10/sim…
The 2026 Morland African Writing Scholarships shortlist is out! 20 writers from across the continent, selected from over 600 entries, are in the running for £18,000 to finish a book. Four winners will be announced on November 20 🖋️ brittlepaper.com/2026/10/the…
BRITTLE PAPER retweeted
Countdown to someone accusing them of using AI in 3...2...1...
Congratulations to Ameen Animashaun ("Dog Fighting a Heron") and Edinam Denoo ("Bonu Bonu Kpoo"), winners of the inaugural Alhaji Arole Agarawu African Poetry Prize! Chosen from 356 submissions across 21 countries, each takes home $1,000 ✨🏆 brittlepaper.com/2026/10/ame…
BRITTLE PAPER retweeted
This is a very insightful read, and reflects how it felt to be on the cusp of winning, and to leave with nothing but your packed bags and a hug or two from the other non-winners.
You came, you saw, you left. Melancholic, really.
A prize can change one writer's life overnight, but what about the others on the shortlist? In a new essay, @obinnaudenwe1 draws on his own Nigeria Prize experience to make a generous case for kindness and solidarity among writers ✊🏾✍🏾 brittlepaper.com/2026/10/los…
“Proof that does not come from a machine.” That's what Caine Prize chair Ellah Wakatama says AI accusations require. As The Atlantic questions Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza's winning story, African writers are standing with him. brittlepaper.com/2026/10/afr…
A prize can change one writer's life overnight, but what about the others on the shortlist? In a new essay, @obinnaudenwe1 draws on his own Nigeria Prize experience to make a generous case for kindness and solidarity among writers ✊🏾✍🏾 brittlepaper.com/2026/10/los…
Dear Brittle Paper readers, we are experiencing minor system issues in our submissions inbox. Please hold emails to the Submissions Editor until the portal is up and running again. Our team is on it and we expect everything back to normal soon. Thanks for your understanding!
"The writer must stand against the normalisation of violence." Ogaga Ifowodo has won the $100,000 2026 Nigeria Prize for Literature for WHY DOES GOD NEED A GUN?, his collection imagining the captivity of Dapchi schoolgirl Leah Sharibu ✍🏾 brittlepaper.com/2026/10/oga…
Congratulations to Ameen Animashaun ("Dog Fighting a Heron") and Edinam Denoo ("Bonu Bonu Kpoo"), winners of the inaugural Alhaji Arole Agarawu African Poetry Prize! Chosen from 356 submissions across 21 countries, each takes home $1,000 ✨🏆 brittlepaper.com/2026/10/ame…
"Silence does not protect girls, love does." In "Dear Gigi," Lindsay Sesay writes to her daughter about trusting her instincts, owning her body, and always having a safe place to tell the truth. A letter for International Day of the Girl Child 💛 brittlepaper.com/2026/10/dea…
