The Shortlist

The shortlist for the 2026 Afritondo Short Story Prize is here.

From our outstanding longlist of 15 exceptional writers, these stories have been selected for the final stage:

  • Joe Lyimo Things We Don’t Say at the Border (Tanzania/Austria)

  • Lynette Sifiso Between Living and Gone (Zimbabwe/United States)

  • Owen Habel Lwanda The Sun of God (Kenya)

  • Ekenedirichuku Alita Ozoemekwanam (Nigeria)

  • Joe Ruzvidzo The Hollow Hill (Zimbabwe/Switzerland)

Huge congratulations to each shortlisted writer.

We also extend heartfelt thanks to every longlisted writer; your stories set the high standard for this year's prize and left a lasting impression on our judges.

Meet the shortlisted writers and stories below.

The overall winner will be announced in an online ceremony in May. Follow our social media channels for updates.

Joe Lyimo

Tanzania/Austria

Things We Don’t Say at the Border

Joe is a Tanzanian musician and writer currently based in Vienna. His work addresses themes of love, pain, and resilience.

He is a 2023 Goethe Talents scholar and former artist-in-residence at MeseumQuartier Vienna.

Lynette Sifiso

United States/Zimbabwe

Between Living and Gone

Lynette is a Zimbabwean-American writer, visual artist, and cultural curator. Her writing spans creative nonfiction, fiction, and hybrid forms.

She holds an MFA (Writing) from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and is currently writing her first collection of essays and a book of modern folktales.

Owen Habel Lwanda

Kenya

The Sun of God

Owen is a contemporary Kenyan poet whose work explores thems of memory, loss, identity and quiet resilience.

His work has appeared in Roughcut Press, Rough Diamond, Floating Acorn Review, Brittle Paper, and elsewhere.

Ekenedirichukwu Alita

Nigeria

Ozoemekwanam

Ekenedirichukwu Alita writes from Abakaliki, Nigeria. His work explores human psychology, memory, grief, and the fragile emotional landscapes that shape everyday lives.

His writing has appeared in Libretto Magazine and Random Photo Journal. He was shortlisted for the 2024 Alexander Nderitu Prize for World Literature.

Joe Ruzvidzo

Zimbabwe/Switzerland

The Hollow Hill

Joe is a Zimbabwean writer and freelance journalist based in Geneva, Switzerland. His work explores migration, identity, and displacement, often drawing on lived experience and the political realities shaping contemporary mobility.

He is the author of the short story collection, “Behind Enemy Lines and Other Stories” (2017), and the novel, “Welcome to Anywhere” (2025).