Élékéré Press

A New independent publisher focusing on Publishing Black and African Voices that exist on the margin.

[OPEN COUNTRY MAG @OpenCountryMag]

Élékéré Press (@elekerepress) has announced the seven writers shortlisted for the inaugural Élékéré Short Story Prize, selected from more than 200 submissions received across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, the United States, Zimbabwe and elsewhere, for the 2026 prize.

Launched in 2026, the Élékéré Short Story Prize was established to recognise outstanding unpublished short fiction by Black writers across Africa and the diaspora.

For its inaugural edition, writers were invited to respond to the theme “Inheritance,” with stories considering what is passed down, carried forward, resisted, remembered, or remade.

The seven shortlisted writers are:

🎯 Olúwatúnmiṣe Ọ̀tọ̀lórìn Akìgbógun (Nigeria), for “Sweet Salt”

🎯 Gabriel Divinefavour Onyekachi (Nigeria), for “The Tick”

🎯 Timothy Ugorji (Nigeria), for “Tomato Baby”

🎯 Oghenechovwe Ekpeki (Nigeria), for “Name Equations”

🎯 Haliru Ali Musa (Nigeria), for “N/A, Check Next Visit”

🎯 Shirley Strickland (United States), for “Image of a Man”

🎯 Black Edward (Zimbabwe), for “The Inheritance of Hands”

Read more:
https://t.co/wN6JwrNv2D

[Élékéré Press @elekerepress]

🎊🎊

[OPEN COUNTRY MAG @OpenCountryMag]

Élékéré Press (@elekerepress) has announced the seven writers shortlisted for the inaugural Élékéré Short Story Prize, selected from more than 200 submissions received across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, the United States, Zimbabwe and elsewhere, for the 2026 prize.

Launched in 2026, the Élékéré Short Story Prize was established to recognise outstanding unpublished short fiction by Black writers across Africa and the diaspora.

For its inaugural edition, writers were invited to respond to the theme “Inheritance,” with stories considering what is passed down, carried forward, resisted, remembered, or remade.

The seven shortlisted writers are:

🎯 Olúwatúnmiṣe Ọ̀tọ̀lórìn Akìgbógun (Nigeria), for “Sweet Salt”

🎯 Gabriel Divinefavour Onyekachi (Nigeria), for “The Tick”

🎯 Timothy Ugorji (Nigeria), for “Tomato Baby”

🎯 Oghenechovwe Ekpeki (Nigeria), for “Name Equations”

🎯 Haliru Ali Musa (Nigeria), for “N/A, Check Next Visit”

🎯 Shirley Strickland (United States), for “Image of a Man”

🎯 Black Edward (Zimbabwe), for “The Inheritance of Hands”

Olly Nze, Editor at Élékéré Press, said, “This prize was launched to spotlight, celebrate, and empower the talent of Black and African writers. The result is a diverse shortlist of incredible writers from all around the globe and all walks of life. This shortlist not only demonstrates the incredibly varied spectrum of writing from the continent and around the world, but also exemplifies the ethos of Elekere Press: challenging what it means to tell Black and African stories.”

#ElekerePress #OpenCountryMag

[Élékéré Press @elekerepress]

@Penprince_ Congratulations🎊💛

[Élékéré Press @elekerepress]

@HaliruAliMusa Congratulations 👏🏾🎊

[H.A Musa @HaliruAliMusa]

Alhamdulillah.
I wrote only two short stories this year. Just two. 😅
I have been focusing more on writing longer works, so I really didn’t expect one of those two stories to get me shortlisted for this prize.
But here we are. 😅
This means a lot to me, especially because of how

[Mustapha Enesi @Eneessi]

@elekerepress @jojoxcvii Congratulations all 🥳

[Élékéré Press @elekerepress]

@MusaAli30 @Penprince_

[Élékéré Press @elekerepress]

We are pleased to announce the 2026 Élékéré Short Story Prize shortlist🎊

For its inaugural edition, the Élékéré Short Story Prize received more than 200 submissions from writers across Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe, the United States and elsewhere.

[Élékéré Press @elekerepress]

The Tick — Gabriel Divinefavour Onyekachi (Nigeria)
@riellespop

Tomato Baby — Timothy Ugorji (Nigeria)
@ezimadu_ugorji

Name Equations — Oghenechovwe Ekpeki (Nigeria)
@penprince

N/A, Check Next Visit — Haliru Ali Musa (Nigeria)
@musaali30

[Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki @Penprince_]

Got shortlisted for this, the @elekerepress prize. Congrats to all the nominees 🥰🥳🤩

[Élékéré Press @elekerepress]

Image of A Man — Shirley Strickland (United States)

The Inheritance of Hands — Black Edward (Zimbabwe)
@blck_edward

The winner of the $500 prize will be announced on 2 Nov 2026 with the winning story published by Élékéré Press.

Read more https://t.co/AP9fZNuWzc
#ElekerePress

[Élékéré Press @elekerepress]

We are excited to share our first publication: Mismemories, edited by @edgothboy & @nelsoncj3

Curated by @Athirdspace___ in partnership with @chevs_org

More details coming soon!⬇️
https://t.co/DngFQh5KTN

[Élékéré Press @elekerepress]

And so are we!

[Ms. @ohiaofeh]

Really excited about this 🥺

[Ms. @ohiaofeh]

Really excited about this 🥺

[Élékéré Press @elekerepress]

Yassss🎉

[Nelson @nelsoncj3]

some verrrryy exciting news

[rainbow luster @allthinxmystic]

Whoop whoop🎉🎉

[Élékéré Press @elekerepress]

We are excited to share our first publication: Mismemories, edited by @edgothboy & @nelsoncj3

Curated by @Athirdspace___ in partnership with @chevs_org

More details coming soon!⬇️
https://t.co/DngFQh5KTN

[Élékéré Press @elekerepress]

Let’s gooo🙂↕️💛

[Emmy & his books @NnamNnaemeka]

Publishing is my passion in this life and to be able to do that, grow and excel at it? To the point that I now own my own publishing house ? 🤯(@elekerepress)