The Yasmin El-Rufai Foundation has released a longlist of writers for the 2022 Hamza El-Rufai Short Story Prize.
The longlist is comprised of ten short stories selected by a team of four judges chaired by Kenyan writer and novelist, Gloria Mwaniga Minage. The judges are Ibrahim Bala Kanti (Academic, Literary Critic & Researcher), Star Okpeh (Poet & Columnist) and Katung Kwasu (Academic, Literary Critic & Researcher).
The longlisted stories are:
- A Week on Mars by Asma’u Abubakar (12 years)
- Entrench by Hope Philip (17 years)
- Golden Thread by Prince John (17 years)
- Haifa by Yusra Idah Idris (17 years)
- It’s the Little Things by Muhammad Al’amin Yusha’u (17 years)
- Mama Pajok by Damian John Audu (17 years)
- Moment for Life by Godwin Ishaku (17 years)
- The Fragrance of a Thing Believed by Yusra Mohammed Yusuf (16 years)
- The Travails of Eme by Emmanuella Simon Audu (16 years)
- Yarima by Maryam Ahmad Suleiman (14 years)
Gloria Mwaniga Minage said “The stories were a pleasure to read. The young writers showed a keen awareness of their world through rich, compelling and imaginative narratives.
“The reader will enjoy a delightful assortment of humorous, surprising, haunting and insightful tales. Collectively, the stories show that indeed, there is no such a thing as a single story about a place.”
While congratulating the 10 writers, she said “The shortlist will be out sometime in October.”
