The CANEX Prize for Publishing has named a three-member jury for its 2026 edition ahead of CANEX WKND 2026, which runs from 5 to 8 November in Lagos, Nigeria. The announcement was made by the CANEX Book Factory, a publishing incubator operated by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) through its Creative African Nexus (CANEX) Programme.
Nigerian author and academic Professor Aderemi Raji-Oyelade will chair the jury, alongside South African literary scholar Professor Polo Moji and Kenyan poet-broadcaster Khainga O’Okwemba. The panel will review all eligible entries and select the winning publisher from a longlist.
“It is an honour to chair this distinguished jury and to experience the breadth and quality of publishing from Africa and its diaspora. The CANEX Prize offers an important opportunity to recognise the work publishers do in bringing books and ideas to readers and strengthening our literary cultures. I look forward to our deliberations, and to celebrating the finalists and eventual winner at CANEX WKND in Lagos this November.”
Expanded eligibility#
The 2026 edition expands eligibility. The prize, formerly the CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa, now includes publishers from Africa’s diaspora, specifically from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states.
Prize timeline and awards#
The jury will assess eligible submissions and announce the following timeline and awards:
- Longlist of ten publishers announced in September
- Shortlist of five finalists announced in October
- Winner receives US$20,000
- Each of the four finalists receives US$2,000
- Award ceremony during the CANEX WKND showcase in Lagos, Nigeria
Jury profiles#
Aderemi Raji-Oyelade is Professor of English and Africana Studies at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, where he teaches Literature of the African Diaspora, Creative Writing and New Media. A multiple award-winning poet and scholar, he is the author of seven poetry collections, including A Harvest of Laughters (1997), Lovesong for My Wasteland (2005) and Wanderer Cantos (2021). He previously served as Secretary of PEN Nigeria Centre and later as President of the Association of Nigerian Authors.
Polo B. Moji is Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Her monograph Gender and the Spatiality of Blackness in Contemporary AfroFrench Narratives (Routledge, 2022) won the 2024 African Literature Association First Book Award. She is also co-editor of Cinematic Imaginaries of the African City (Routledge, 2023) and Conversational Bridges in African Feminisms: Weaving Knowledge Together (HSRC Press, 2025), and is a co-investigator on the African Literary Cities research project.
Khainga O’Okwemba is a Kenyan poet, essayist and travel writer. He is the producer and presenter of The Books Café on Kenya Broadcasting Corporation and serves as Sub-Editor of The Mast, a publication of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation.
About CANEX and Afreximbank#
Creative African Nexus (CANEX) is Afreximbank’s programme to facilitate the development and growth of the creative and cultural industries in Africa and the diaspora. The initiative provides a range of financing and non-financing instruments and interventions aimed at supporting and developing Africa’s production, trade, and investment in the creative sector.
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade. For over 30 years, Afreximbank has provided financing solutions to support the transformation of Africa’s trade, industrialisation and intra-regional trade. Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, Afreximbank has set up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2025, Afreximbank’s total assets and contingencies stood at over US$48.5 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$8.4 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co., Ltd (CCXI) (AAA) and GCR.
