Announcing the Finalists for the 2022 Gerald Kraak Prize for Writing and Photography of African Perspectives on Gender, Social Justice, and Sexuality
The Other Foundation and the Jacana Literary Foundation are delighted to announce the 12 finalists for the Gerald Kraak Prize for Writing and Photography of African Perspectives on Gender, Social Justice, and Sexuality. The prize-giving event will be held on Africa Day, 25 May 2022, at ColourLab in Cape Town, South Africa, with a keynote address by Lebo Mashile.
The event will be the fourth edition of the Gerald Kraak Prize, launched in 2016 in honour of anti-apartheid activist and award-winning author Gerald Kraak (1956 – 2014). Twelve finalists have been selected from over 200 submissions received from 20 African countries. The Gerald Kraak Prize is the only one that covers all forms of writing and printable art, on the African continent. The brave, stirring, and multi-layered pieces represent modern, provocative African storytelling on gender, social justice, and sexuality.
The head judge picked the longlist, three of whom worked with mentors Shaun de Waal, Makhosazana Xaba and Sandile Ngidi, before the whole judging panel selected the shortlist. The illustrious judging panel of Otosirieze Obi-Young (Head Judge, Nigeria), Mark Gevisser (South Africa) and Ellah Pedzisai Wakatama (Zimbabwe) now have the unenviable task of selecting the winner.
This year, all finalists for the prize will receive an award of USD200, while the runner-up and winner will receive USD500 and USD2,000, respectively. We congratulate the finalists and wish them well in the final judging for the 2022 Gerald Kraak Prize. All the finalists will be published in the upcoming, Gerald Kraak anthology.
The 12 finalists are:
Kanyinsola Olorunnisola, ‘The Women in My Life Are Unfinished Portraits’ (Nigeria)
Here is the life of a young woman trapped between spirituality, depression, and generational malaise. Here is an intriguing, adventurous story told with a sense of transgression and a gentle, refreshing mischief—an attempt to capture “bad-assness” in prose as well as the fragmentary nature of identity. It suggests: we are all stuck in something and we don’t always know what and how.
Click here to see the entry.
Abdulrahim Hussani, ‘Twilight’ (Nigeria)
There is a delicate telling here of loss, displacement, and vulnerability. We are taken through a hunger-stricken refugee camp, into the narrator’s mother’s heartbreaking relationship with a politician.
Click here to see the entry.
Halim Olaposi, ‘The Road’ (Nigeria)
A moving evocation of a man and a woman discovering their shared love for a man who died trying to escape to Europe as an economic migrant. The depiction of the hell of trans-Sahara migrancy is robust, and the engagement between the two characters subtle and complex, revealing the limits of what they know about the man they love. It is a tale of reconnection via grief.
Click here to see the entry.
Moso Sematlane, ‘The Boys Whose Hearts Were Sepulchres’ (Lesotho)
A memorable story capturing the loneliness and bravery of a queer black kid in a provincial, largely white South African setting. There is gentleness to the storytelling, showing a sense of place and the forbidden longings, at several levels, of youth.
Click here to see the entry.
Obinna Obioma, ‘When God is a (Wo)man’ (Nigeria)
An interesting take on sexuality, gender roles, and tradition, in which the narrator leads us into their secret life as a trans man, as well as their unusual family.
Click here to see the entry.
Ernest Ogunyemi, ‘Impossible’ (Nigeria)
A tightly crafted poem about desire and the shock of the unexpected.
Click here to see the entry.
Kasimma, ‘Where One Falls is Where Their God Pushed them down’ (Nigeria)
A humorous, pacy, confident coming-out (or not) story about a churchgoer, the older pastor she desires, and her suspicious mother. The characters are well drawn.
Click here to see the entry (coming soon).
Ukamaka Olisakwe, ‘Slut’, and ‘The Grasscutters Curse’ (Nigeria)
Olisakwe’s combo of poetry and fiction centers women’s bodies. With power and mischief, ‘Slut’ confronts traditional patriarchy in Igbo society, detailing a woman’s psychological development and sexual awakening, and exhuming her into the freedom of desire. With steady, confident assurance, ‘The Grasscutter’s Curse’ sits us with a 19-year-old girl in harrowing labour. It is a pitch-perfect depiction of both the physical and familial contexts of childbirth, and a family drama unfolds, which reveals the way women treat their daughters-in-law in patriarchal systems.
Click here to see the entry ‘The Grasscutters Curse’.
Click here to see the entry ‘Slut’
Roy Udeh-Ubaka, ‘Until It Doesn’t’ (Nigeria)
Brave fiction that tweaks the possibilities of the short story form, both in its use of voice and the way it compresses time, to illuminate the truth of so many queer people: the need to marry and make families. The use of the second person plural implicates us all while creating the tension of distance, and the sense of both peace, and loss, in its two protagonists in old age is deeply moving. It is beautiful how so much life is packed in and yet there is restraint.
Click here to see the entry.
Sheena Magenya, ‘A Thing More Difficult Than This’ (Kenya)
A strong, memorable story that pins us in the shoes of a jobseeker who, unable to disappoint her family, finds herself in a coerced sexual relationship to secure employment. It is also a portrait of the aspiring middle class in today’s rapidly developing Nairobi.
Click here to see the entry.
Davina Philomena Nassozi-Kawuma, ‘Of Birds and Bees’ (Uganda)
A lively, spicy, edgy story that unpicks the taboos around female sexual desire and orgasm—in relation to men, and not—which becomes a wider commentary on the gendered and racial politics of storytelling. It has a wry tone and a good sense of place.
Click here to see the entry (coming soon).
Chisom Okafor, ‘A Shorter Note on My Coming Out’, ‘My Sex Drive as a Basis for Other Interpretations’, and ‘Birthing’ (Nigeria)
In three ambitious, well-crafted poems, Okafor depicts moments in gay life with assuredness, providing passion, empathy, a beautiful reflection on grief and love, and a tale of a boy rediscovering himself, refreshing his sense of life.
Click here to see the entry ‘A Shorter Note on My Coming Out’.
Click here to see the entry ‘My Sex Drive as a Basis for Other Interpretations’.
Click here to see the entry ‘Birthing’.
For all media enquiries, review copies or interview requests, please contact:
Samuel Shapiro, The Other Foundation, +27 83 261 7804;
Kelly Ann Mawa, Jacana Media, 011 628 3239.
Congratulations to OluTimehin Adegbeye, winner of the 2019 Gerald Kraak Prize
Adegbeye, from Nigeria, is the third recipient of the prize, which was first launched in 2016 in honour of passionate champion for social justice and anti-apartheid activist Gerald Kraak. The announcement was made at the prestigious launch of The Heart of the Matter, the third volume of the Gerald Kraak Anthology, following the 2018 volume, As You Like It.
This year’s judging panel included head judge, Sisonke Msimang; writer, story teller and author of Always Another Country, Mark Gevisser; one of South Africa’s leading authors and journalists, Professor Sylvia Tamale; a leading African feminist who teaches law at Makerere University in Uganda, and Otosirieze Obi-Young; writer, literary journalist and deputy editor of Brittle Paper.
The judges were taken by the fierce intensity of ‘Mothers and Men’, a meditation on the bonds between mothers and daughters. The essay explores the fragility of healing with a rare sensitivity and insight. OluTimehin Adegbeye’s voice walks the fine line between heartbreak and redemption, casting new light on questions of rape and secondary victimisation in ways that are new and important. Adegbeye is an urgent and timely voice and both her substantive interests and her prose and befitting of a prize that exists to champion human rights and complicate the framing of what it means to be African today.
The judges noted the overall quantity and quality of the poetry entry this year. “We are pleased that in the category of poetry, On My Coming Out, by Chisom Okafor was our selection.” ‘On My Coming Out’, previously published in the Kikwetu Journal, is an affecting and elegantly written poem that speaks to desire, tradition and the enduring power – of familial love.
The judges were taken by the subtlety of the submission of Chukwuebuka Ibeh. ‘A Sickness Called Longing’ is a haunting and subtle story about loneliness, vulnerability, masculinity and ageing.
The Heart of the Matter is a collection of the 21 shortlisted entries from over 400 submissions received from South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and 6 other African countries. It showcases some of the most provocative works of fiction, poetry and non-fiction. These stories capture the essence of the African LGBTQI+ community and showcase some of Africa’s most talented writers. The anthology gives a voice to those who would otherwise be marginalised and it insists that differences must be recognised, embraced and celebrated.
Submissions for the Gerald Kraak Anthology and Prize are open all year. Click here for guidelines.
For more on the Jacana Literary Foundation, visit their website.
For all media enquiries, review copies or interview requests, please contact:
Tendai Thondhlana, The Other Foundation, 0721683148;
Katlego Letlonkane, Jacana Media, 011 628 3239.
Click the cover image above to watch a video about some of the shortlisted entrants.
Image Gallery: Gerald Kraak 2019
The 2018 Gerald Kraak Prize goes to Pwaangulongii Dauod
The Jacana Literary Foundation and the Other Foundation are proud to announce the 2018 recipient of the Gerald Kraak Prize. Congratulations to Pwaangulongii Daoud whose essay, ‘Africa’s future has no space for stupid black men’, made him this year’s worthy winner.
Daoud is the second recipient of the prize, which was first launched in 2016 in honour of passionate champion for social justice and anti-apartheid activist Gerald Kraak (1956–2014). The announcement was made at the prestigious launch of As You like It, the second volume of the Gerald Kraak Anthology, after the 2017 volume Pride & Prejudice.
As You Like It is a collection of the 22 shortlisted entries from over 400 submissions received from 13 African countries. It showcases some of the most provocative works of fiction, poetry, journalism, photography and academic writing. This anthology series has become an act of protest, affirmation and love. It represents a new wave of fresh storytelling that stimulates thought and expression on the subject of gender, social justice, sexuality and self-expression.
The winners were selected by a judging panel made up of distinguished gender activist Sisonke Msimang (lead judge and anthology editor), prize winning author and journalist Mark Gevisser, and leading African feminist Sylvia Tamale.
Submissions for the Gerald Kraak Prize and Anthology will now be open year-round.
Click here for guidelines and entry form.
For more on the Jacana Literary Foundation, visit their website.
For all media enquiries, review copies or interview requests, please contact:
Tendai Thondhlana, The Other Foundation, 0721683148;
Katlego Letlonkane, Jacana Media, 011 628 3239.
Click the cover image above to watch a video about some of the shortlisted entrants.
Congratulations to Farah Ahamed and Sarah Waiswa, joint winners of the inaugural Gerald Kraak Prize.
The Other Foundation and the Jacana Literary Foundation, are delighted to announce the joint winners of the Gerald Kraak Prize 2017: Farah Ahamed for ‘Poached Eggs’ and Sarah Waiswa (pictured, above) for ‘Stranger in a Familiar Land’.
The winners were announced on Africa Day, 25 May at the official launch of the first in the Gerald Kraak Anthology series, titled Pride and Prejudice: The Gerald Kraak Anthology of African Perspectives on Gender, Social Justice and Sexuality. The kaleidoscopic collection comprises the most exceptional written and photographic entries for the annual Gerald Kraak Prize, which was established in 2016 by the Other Foundation, in partnership with the Jacana Literary Foundation.
Offering important African perspectives gathered from the continent, this inaugural edition features works of fiction, journalism, photography and poetry. The pieces are multi-layered, brave and stirring. They represent a new wave of fresh storytelling that provokes thought on the topics of gender, social justice and sexuality.
The winners were selected by a judging panel made up of distinguished gender activist Sisonke Msimang (chair of the panel and series editor), prominent social and political analyst Eusebius McKaiser, and leading African feminist Sylvia Tamale.
Farah Ahamed, ‘Poached Eggs’ (Fiction, Kenya)
A subtle, slow and careful rendering of the everyday rhythms of domestic terror that pays homage to the long history of women’s resistance. Written with wit, humour and grit, the story also sings of freedom, resistance and the desire to be unbound.
Sarah Waiswa, ‘Stranger in a Familiar Land’ (Photography, Kenya)
This collection of photos showcases the best of African storytelling. The images take risks and speak of danger and subversion yet, at the same time, they are deeply rooted in places that are familiar to urban Africans.
Submissions for the Gerald Kraak Award 2018 will be open from 25 May to 25 July 2017. Click here for guidelines and the entry form.
For all media enquiries, review copies or interview requests, please contact:
Tendai Thondhlana, The Other Foundation, 0721683148;
Neilwe Mashigo, Jacana Media, 0116283200.
