Afreximbank Opens Submissions for the 2026 CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa

Now in its third edition, the USD20,000 prize celebrates excellence in African and Caribbean publishing.

Afreximbank has announced the third edition of the CANEX Prize for Publishing, delivered as part of the CANEX Book Factory 2026. The prize, inaugurated in November 2023, promotes and celebrates excellence in African and Caribbean publishing. Narrative Landscape Press Limited is a proud resource partner for this edition.

This year marks a significant expansion: the prize now reaches beyond the African continent into the wider African diaspora, encompassing the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and its environs (Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, and Panama).

Eligibility and Submission Criteria

The prize is open to trade books first published in 2025 by African or Caribbean publishers. Trade books include fiction, non-fiction, and poetry published for a general audience; academic books and textbooks are not eligible. 

Submissions will be judged on the quality of writing, editing, and production.

Prize Money

A USD20,000 prize will be awarded to the publisher of the best trade book in 2025. Four finalists will also receive USD2,000 each in prize money. 

The winners will be announced during CANEX WKND, held in Lagos, Nigeria, from 5–8 November 2026.

Background: The CANEX Book Factory

Launched in 2020 by Afreximbank, the CANEX Book Factory elevates the African book value chain through a Pan-African writing workshop, an e-newsletter spotlighting African literature, and the prize for publishing. 

The broader CANEX initiative supports the creative and cultural economy, spanning fashion, music, film, art, literature, gastronomy, and sport, across Africa and the diaspora, through financial and non-financial tools.

The prize contributes to long-term intellectual property development, intra-African cultural trade, and the sustainability of the Africa-Caribbean creative economy. Read about last year’s winner, Karavan Press.

Publishers in Africa and the Caribbean are invited to submit eligible trade books for consideration here.

About Narrative Landscape Press

Narrative Landscape Press Limited is a resource partner for the 2026 CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa.

For more enquiries, email pubprize@narrativelandscape.com