A three-member panel led by Nigerian scholar and poet Aderemi Raji-Oyelade will assess publishers from Africa and the Caribbean for the USD20,000, while each of the four finalists will receive USD2,000.
The awards will culminate at CANEX WKND 2026, scheduled for Nov. 5-8 in Lagos, Nigeria.
The 2026 edition marks a change in the scope of the award, which was previously known as the CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa.
The expanded eligibility now includes publishers from member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), reflecting CANEX’s focus on strengthening publishing and creative industries across Africa and its diaspora.
Raji-Oyelade said the expanded competition would provide an opportunity to recognise publishers for their contribution to African literary cultures and the global circulation of African ideas.
“It is an honour to chair this distinguished jury and to experience the breadth and quality of publishing from Africa and its diaspora,” Raji-Oyelade said.
He said the prize would help recognise the work publishers do in bringing books and ideas to readers while strengthening literary cultures.
Raji-Oyelade is a professor of English and Africana Studies at the University of Ibadan, where he teaches literature of the African diaspora, creative writing and new media.
The award-winning poet and scholar has published seven poetry collections and previously served as secretary of the PEN Nigeria Centre and president of the Association of Nigerian Authors.
Moji is an associate professor at the University of Cape Town. Her 2022 monograph, Gender and the Spatiality of Blackness in Contemporary AfroFrench Narratives, won the 2024 African Literature Association First Book Award.
She is also a co-editor of works examining African cities and African feminisms and is involved in research on African literary cities.
O’Okwemba is a Kenyan poet, essayist and travel writer. He produces and presents The Books Café on Kenya Broadcasting Corporation and serves as sub-editor of The Mast, a KBC publication.
The CANEX Book Factory said the jury’s regional and academic experience would strengthen the assessment of publishers contributing to the development and global reach of African literature.
The competition will move through a staged selection process before the finalists are presented at CANEX WKND.
The initiative forms part of Afreximbank’s wider CANEX Programme, which seeks to support Africa’s creative and cultural industries and increase their contribution to economic development.
The 2026 prize will conclude with an award ceremony during the CANEX WKND showcase in Lagos, bringing together publishers and other stakeholders from Africa and the diaspora.
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