2023 Evaristo Short-List Announced!

The African Poetry Book Fund is thrilled to announce the short-list of the Evaristo Prize for African Poetry (formerly the Brunel International Prize for African Poetry).

Judges Gabeba Baderoon (Chair), Tjawangwa Dema, and Mahtem Shiferraw have selected the following poets:

“And God Said”—Derek Ehiorobo (Nigeria)

“Butterflies”—Kyle Okeke (US/Nigeria)

“This Wake Holding, Mmiri”—chisaraokwu (US/Igbo)

“How to Live in Denial”—Wale Ayinla (Nigeria)

“Self-portrait in utopia and other poems”—Nkateko Masinga (South Africa)

The Evaristo Prize for African Poetry is an annual prize of USD $1,500 awarded to ten poems written by an African poet. Established first as the Brunel International African Poetry Prize (BIAPP) in 2012 by British writer Bernardine Evaristo, who founded and managed the prize for ten years, the Evaristo Prize was renamed and has been administered by the African Poetry Book Fund since 2022.

President of the UK’s Royal Society of Literature and a celebrated writer, Bernardine Evaristo is an APBF Board Member; Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University London; and the author of ten books of fiction, poetry, essays, drama, criticism, and journalism.

The African Poetry Book Fund looks forward to announcing the award winner in May 2024.