We are delighted to announce the 2025 Island Prize shortlist!
Our fantastic finalists are:
Azags Agandaa (Ghana)
Izzy Agu (Rwanda/Nigeria)
Wame Molefhe (Botswana)
Kristien Potgieter (South Africa)
Zabu Wamara (Uganda)
This year’s Island Prize has been difficult in he best possible way: first, we found it very difficult to whittle the 160-plus entries down to a longlist of just nine novels; now we have found it impossible to select just three to make a shortlist – so we have chosen five!
The next step doesn’t look like being any easier ... This shortlist is especially satisfying because of the range of stories being told. There is a love story with a disturbing difference set in South Africa; a novel of nomadic life from Ghana; an exploration of mental illness and traditional healing methods set in Uganda; a story of love and loss from Botswana against the background of apartheid and opposition in South Africa; and a fantasy novel based on historical events in Mali and Gao in the Middle Ages. We hope that all of them find agents and publishers, and wish them well in the final stage of the Island Prize.