Two Nigerians have been shortlisted for the 2019 Caine Prize for African Writing.

The shortlist announced, today, May 20, features stories that tackle “the ordinary in an extraordinary manner” and ”celebrate the diversity of the African short-story writing tradition” for the twentieth edition of the Prize.

The five-writer shortlist, which includes authors from Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria, was announced by this year’s Chair of judges, Kenyan author of the award-winning novel ”Dance of the Jakaranda”, Dr. Peter Kimani.

The shortlisted writers for the 2019 Caine Prize are:

• Lesley Nneka Arimah (Nigeria) for ‘Skinned’, published in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Issue 53 (2018).

• Meron Hadero (Ethiopia) for ‘The Wall’, published in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Issue 52 (2018)

• Cherrie Kandie (Kenya) for ‘Sew My Mouth’, published in ID Identity: New Short Fiction From Africa (2018)

• Ngwah-Mbo Nana Nkweti (Cameroon) for ‘It Takes A Village Some Say’, published in The Baffler (2017).

• Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor (Nigeria) for ‘All Our Lives’, published in ID Identity: New Short Fiction From Africa (2018)

The winner of this year’s £10,000 prize will be announced at an award ceremony and dinner in the Beveridge Hall at Senate House, SOAS, on Monday 8 July 2018 – in partnership with SOAS, University of London. Each shortlisted writer will also receive £500.

The shortlisted stories will be printed by New Internationalist in a special publication to mark the twentieth Caine Prize award dinner, and through co-publishers in 16 African countries who receive a print-ready PDF free of charge.