The Awele Creative Trust (ACT) has announced the shortlist for this year’s ACT Award, naming three writers whose stories were selected from a highly competitive longlist for their exceptional craft and thematic depth.
The shortlisted writers are Chidera Anikpe for “A Fragile Language”, Ridwan Badamasi for “In The Shade of The Branch”, and Ikechukwu Henry for “The Light Between Us”. Each will receive N50,000, with the overall winner to be awarded N100,000.
The judges described the task of narrowing the field to just three stories as formidable, noting that the shortlisted works are united by their profound explorations of loss, spanning the biological and physical to the deeply emotional and by the “fragile languages” their characters employ to navigate grief and absence.
Founded in 2014 by award-winning Nigerian writer Chika Unigwe, who serves as its creative director, the Awele Creative Trust is a non-profit organisation established to encourage aspiring writers in Nigeria.
The ACT Award, an annual short story prize, has over the years featured a distinguished roster of judges, among them Chibundu Onuzo, Madeleine Thien, Brian Chikwava, Toni Kan Onwordi, Vamba Sherif, and Monica Arac d’Nyeko. The prize was first awarded in January 2015 to Caleb Adebayo.
The Trust has since extended its congratulations to the three shortlisted writers.
•Featured image: Chika Unigwe/File
