New award for African Sci-fi, horror, speculative fiction

Speculative fiction in Africa is getting a boost with the institution of the Nommo Awards, set to annually highlight the best in “science fiction, fantasy, stories of magic and traditional belief, alternative histories, horror and strange stuff that might not fit in anywhere else.” The prize is established by the African Speculative Fiction Society, which […]

Speculative fiction in Africa is getting a boost with the institution of the Nommo Awards, set to annually highlight the best in “science fiction, fantasy, stories of magic and traditional belief, alternative histories, horror and strange stuff that might not fit in anywhere else.”
The prize is established by the African Speculative Fiction Society, which says it has prize money for the next four years of the awards, thanks to the support of Tom Ilube, founder of the African Gifted Foundation, a new African institution for gifted and talented persons.
The formal announcement for the prize will be made at the Ake Arts and Book Festival in Abeokuta Nigeria, in November this year.
South African author, Lauren Beukes, author of The Shining Girls and Zoo City, said on the ASFS site that “the Nommos are long overdue-an African SF prize for Africans by Africans that honours our stories and how we choose to tell them.”
On why he is putting money in the prize for the next four years, Ilube said, “Science fiction is important because it looks ahead to African futures. Fantasy and fiction based on traditional tales are important because they link us back to our forebears. Both are important for African development. I wanted to make sure that the explosion of African science fiction gets the recognition it deserves.”
The prize is open to African writers, which the ASFS defined as authors and artists with African citizenship, who live on the continent or who were born in Africa and live abroad, or who are children of an African parent. More details on eligibility can be found on the ASFS website.
Members of the ASFS will nominate works  in four categories, namely: The Ilube Award for Best Speculative Fiction Novel by an African ($1,000), The Nommo Award for Best Speculative Fiction Novella by an African ($500), The Nommo Award for Best Speculative Fiction Short Story by an African ($500) and The Nommo Award for Best Speculative Fiction Graphic Novel by Africans ($1,000 to be shared).
Nominations will be done on the website with the nomination window opening after the announcement at the Ake Festival in the third week of November.
The first award-giving ceremony will be held at Ake Festival in Nigeria, November 2017.  Subsequently, organizers plan to alternate the location of the awards ceremony between West and East Africa.