Cassava Republic Press has announced the winners of its inaugural Global Black Women’s Non-fiction Manuscript Prize, showcasing powerful narratives that challenge traditional storytelling and amplify marginalized voices.
American writer Cherise Morris emerged as the grand prize winner for her manuscript “the cosmic matter of Black lives,” a bold, experimental exploration of Blackness and environmental impacts of white supremacy.
Morris will receive a $20,000 advance and a publishing deal with Cassava Republic Press.
The competition, which attracted over 100 submissions from 36 countries, also highlighted two remarkable runners-up. Desta Haile from Eritrea’s “Black Beauty Model Agency” offers an intimate look into a pioneering 1960s New York modelling agency, while Pamella Gysman from South Africa presents “Through The Lens Of Food,” an insightful examination of Black middle-class identity through culinary experiences.
Bernardine Evaristo, the Booker Prize-winning author who chaired the judging panel, praised the selected works, describing them as a “richly rewarding process of discovery” that reveals the expansive intellectual landscape of Black women’s narratives.
“Chairing this prize has been a richly rewarding process of discovery…The talented winning writers show us that the universe of Black women’s ideas, experiences, and perspectives is full of talent, promise, and adventure,” said Evaristo.
Supported by Alitheia Capital and the Open Society Foundations Africa, the prize aims to address historical imbalances in publishing, providing a critical platform for Black women writers often overlooked in traditional literary spaces.
Morris, reflecting on her win, expressed gratitude for the recognition of her six-year writing journey.
“I am so grateful to be a finalist for the Global Black Women’s Non-fiction Manuscript Prize, for a project that has been so close to my heart for many years, in such inspiring company, by such inspiring judges. Cassava Republic Press has always been in the business of ground-breaking and representation; this prize is a brilliant and generous extension of that vital work, and it aligns perfectly with the historic & diasporic vision of Black Beauty Model Agency,” she said.
The winning manuscripts demonstrate remarkable depth, traversing themes of cultural identity, historical representation and systemic inequities. From Morris’s philosophical exploration of Blackness to Haile’s cultural retrospective and Gysman’s sociological investigation through food, these works promise to offer readers transformative perspectives.
Each runner-up will also receive a $5,000 advance and a publishing deal, underlining Cassava Republic’s commitment to nurturing diverse literary voices.
The publisher said the Global Black Women’s Non-fiction Manuscript Prize will return in 2025, continuing its mission to spotlight exceptional non-fiction works by Black women and challenge prevailing narrative structures.
Cassava Republic Press, is a leading Global Black Publisher of award-winning fiction, non-fiction and children’s books from Africa and its Diasporas operating out of Abuja and London. In 17 years, the publisher has sold over six million books in more than 60 countries and published award-winning writers such as Teju Cole, Sarah Ladipo Manyika and Helon Habila.
As a Global Black Publishing House, Cassava is committed to ensuring that the story of the Global Black World is told in its historical and contemporary diversity from Benin to Bahia, Lagos to Lima, Kingston to Kinshasa, Nairobi to New York.
•Featured image: Cherise Morris/Cassava Republic Press
