We’re dedicating this edition of The Spark to the newest Caine Prize winner, Idza Luhumyo. Idza’s story, “Five Years Next Sunday,” was named the winner of this year’s Caine Prize for African Writing. The award is given to “a short story by an African writer published in English […] The winner is awarded a cash prize of £10,000, and the other four shortlisted writers will receive £500 each.”
We are proud to have published Idza’s award-winning story in our release, Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa, co-published with Short Story Day Africa.
Congratulations to Idza, and all of the shortlisted authors!
You can read all of the shortlisted stories here.
The Soma Nami Books Podcast spent some time with the finalists. You can listen to the episodes here.
Africa in Words and Brittle Paper each had a series reviewing the shortlisted stories. Plus, Rachel Zadok from Short Story Day Africa chatted with Africa in Words on African writing and what made Idza’s story so special.
Idza was interviewed by the BBC on her win and why she thinks Kenyan writers have been so successful when it comes to the prize (she’s the fifth Kenyan writer to win the Caine Prize)
Praise for “Five Years Next Sunday”
“An incandescent story – its exquisite language wedded to the deeply moving drama of a protagonist whose mystical office invites animus at every turn.” — Okey Ndibe, Chair of the 2022 AKO Caine Prize Judging Panel
“Profound in so many aspects – touching on fear and obsession, sexualities and desire, cycles, times, seers and ancestral callings, the natural and artificial, how appearance and realities impact the environment and extractive relationships in the postcolony – it explores in a subtle way how the choices we make matter.” — Yamikani Mlangiza, Africa in Words
“[T]he haunting tone complements the fantastical aspects of the story while enhancing their believability. Luhumyo brilliantly weaves all these elements together into a mesmerizing story of flawed individuals, need, love and greed: a heartbreaking mirror that reflects our neocolonial reality.” —Doreen Baingana, Brittle Paper
