Kenyan writer Gladwell Pamba shortlisted for 2026 Caine Prize

Kenyan writer Gladwell Pamba has been shortlisted for the 2026 Caine Prize for African Writing for her short story The Last Shop, published by Jahazi Press in August 2024.

“I supposed I was a good writer, but I never imagined I would land on Caine’s radar. I feel validated to keep trusting my voice and to keep telling my truths through fiction,” Pamba told The Caine Prize.

Pamba is among five writers from Kenya, Cameroon, Nigeria, Egypt and Zimbabwe shortlisted for this year’s prize from more than 400 submissions.

The other shortlisted writers are Cameroonian author Melara Mvogdobo for Dieu Merci!, Nigerian writer Akinwande Remilekun Jordan for So Long Now It’s Starting To Look Like Eternity, Egyptian writer Yasmine Zohdi for The Absence of Stains and Zimbabwean writer Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza for The Blue Fighter.

According to the judging panel, the five stories stood out for their originality and powerful storytelling.

“These five shortlisted stories stood out with their originality. Each author packed a powerful punch in their storytelling with tales that were poignant, shocking, moving and even quirky. Congratulations to them all,” said Bola Mosuro, chair of the judges.

Jahazi Press founder and the manager of Prestige Bookshop Ahmed Aidarus said that the Jahazi Press team was “ecstatic” and “a little in disbelief” following the shortlist announcement.

The Last Shop, published in Let’s Conspire and Other Stories, is set in rural Kenya. Aidarus said the story represents a shift in Kenyan writing away from political realism towards more psychologically orientated storytelling.

“The Last Shop is one of the finest short stories in this new vein. It is also relatively unique in its turn from being Nairobi-biased in its rural Kenyan setting. Seeing this story reach the shortlist is deeply affirming,” he said.

He recalled that four years ago with Saseni, they launched a short story workshop, their first publishing process from development to print. Most of the work has involved reviving established Kenyan texts.

Pamba is a PhD student at Concordia University in Canada, where she also holds an MA in Creative Writing. She won the Ibua Manuscript Prize in 2024 and the Malahat Review’s Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction in 2025.

Her work has appeared in Iskanchi Press, Bakwa, North West Review, Waxwing Journal, The Offing and The Rumpus, among others. She has also participated in fellowships, including the Oxbelly Writers Retreat and International Literary Seminars. She is currently working on a novel and a collection of short stories.

Cameroonian writer Melara Mvogdobo is shortlisted for Dieu Merci!, published by Literatur. Review in August 2025.

Born in Lucerne in 1972, Mvogdobo studied education and later lived in the Dominican Republic, Cameroon and Switzerland. She has taught traumatised young people and led workshops on textile handicrafts and tropical cuisine. Her first novel was published in 2023, while her second novel, Grandmothers, was nominated for the Swiss Book Prize in 2025.

Nigerian writer, critic and editor Akinwande Remilekun Jordan is shortlisted for So Long Now It’s Starting To Look Like Eternity, published by Naira Books in February 2026.

Jordan’s work spans cinema, literature, culture and politics, with a particular interest in African cinema, popular culture, gender, power and representation. His shortlisted story was published in the anthology A House That’s Not A Home.

Naira Books editor Kingsley Alumona said the story immediately stood out for its language and pacing, which he described as reading like poetry. He also praised Jordan’s exploration of a complex theme faced by many married couples.

Egyptian writer, translator and film critic Yasmine Zohdi is shortlisted for The Absence of Stains, published by The Republic in August 2025.

Based in Cairo, Zohdi holds an MFA in Fiction Writing from Sarah Lawrence College in New York. She is a former culture editor at Mada Masr and an alumna of Berlinale Talent Press. Her work has appeared in Words Without Borders, Asymptote, Bidoun, ArabLit and The Republic.

Chigozie Obioma, fiction editor at The Republic, described The Absence of Stains as “in many ways a masterpiece” and said the story was among those published in the publication’s first fiction issue.

The fifth shortlisted writer, Zimbabwean author Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza, is shortlisted for The Blue Fighter, published by The Shallow Tales Review in June 2025.

Kundizeza is based in Harare. His debut novel manuscript, Freelance, won the 2024 Island Prize for Debut African Fiction. His work has appeared in Transition Magazine, The Wrong Patient and Other Stories from Africa anthology and The Shallow Tales Review.

The Caine Prize awards £10,000 (1.7M Ksh) to the winning writer, while each shortlisted author receives £500 (87,000). The Prize, established in 2000, has championed the African short story for 25 years.