At the 2025 Intra-African Trade Fair in Algiers, South Africa’s Karavan Press was named winner of the prestigious CANEX Book Factory Prize for Publishing in Africa, joining Nigeria’s Cassava Republic in a growing canon of publishers reshaping the continent’s literary landscape.
The winning title, In Silence My Heart Speaks by Thobeka Yose, earned Karavan the $20,000 top prize, a clear affirmation of the publisher’s commitment to quiet, powerful storytelling rooted in African experience. The award was presented by Algeria’s Minister of Culture and Arts, Azzedine Mihoubi.
Now in its second year, the CANEX Prize, an initiative of Afreximbank’s Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) in partnership with Narrative Landscape Press, honours publishers who elevate African narratives and invest in the continent’s literary value chain. This year’s entries, over 80 in total, spanned fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, with a strong showing of works in indigenous languages and locally printed editions.
The jury, comprising scholars and publishing professionals from across Africa and the diaspora, praised the rising editorial and production standards. Finalists received $2,000 each, reinforcing the Prize’s commitment to nurturing excellence across the continent.
Karavan’s win follows Cassava Republic’s 2024 triumph with Female Fear Factory by Pumla Dineo Gqola, a searing critique of patriarchal violence. Together, these wins signal a shift: African publishers are not only curating and telling bold, resonant stories – they are building the infrastructure to sustain them.
As part of the broader CANEX Book Factory programme, the Prize is more than an accolade; it is a call to invest in Africa’s literary future—from writers and editors to printers, distributors, and booksellers.
In a world hungry for new narratives, Africa’s stories – rooted in place, yet globally resonant – are finding their literary and publishing champions.
