Since their launch in 2017, the Nommo Awards have become the premier literary honour for speculative fiction by African writers, celebrating excellence across science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other imaginative forms. Over the years, winners have included both celebrated and emerging voices whose works have gained global attention and critical acclaim, helping to elevate African speculative fiction on the international stage.
Congratulations to THE 2025 NOMMO AWARDS FINALISTS
You can also read our Nommo Award Short Story works by following the links at the end of each profile.
The Smoke That Thunders
by Erhu Kome
Erhu Kome is an Urhobo author whose works blend romance and speculative elements, including The Smoke That Thunders, Barter, and Love, Chaos, and My Cupid, honoured with awards such as the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. She is the first Nigerian female author of bizarro fiction, runs a mentorship program for unpublished female Nigerian writers, and founded the Storytellers Writing Retreat
Publisher: Norton Young Readers, 2024
Dakini Atoll by Nikhil Singh
Nikhil Singh is a South African artist, writer and musician whose debut novel Taty Went West (2015) was shortlisted for Best African Novel in the inaugural Nommo Awards. His second novel Club Ded (2020) and its sequel Dakini Atoll (2024) were both shortlisted for the Nommo Awards, with Club Ded also shortlisted for the BSFA Awards. Singh completed the James Currey workshop at Oxford University in 2022 and has appeared at literary festivals including Africa Writes, Worldcon and Cymera.
Publisher: Luna Press Publishing, 2024
The Incredible Dreams of Garba Dakaskus by Umar Abubakar Sidi
Umar Abubakar Sidi is a poet and a novelist, he is the author of the poetry collections The Poet of Dust and Like Butterflies Scattered About by Art Rascals. The Incredible Dreams of Garba Dakaskus is his first novel. He lives in Lagos, Nigeria.
Publisher: Masobe, 2024
The Year of Return
by Ivana Akotowaa Oforiby
Ivana Akotowaa Ofori is a Ghanaian storyteller. She is a weaver of words in many forms, including fiction, non-fiction and spoken-word poetry. An alumna of the Clarion West writing workshop, Akotowaa has been shortlisted for various awards, including the Miles Morland Writing Fellowship. Her work appears in anthologies such as Africa Risen, Clinamen Editions’ Daring Shifts, and Flame Tree Publishing’s African Ghost Short Stories and Anansi. She curated the 2025 African Book Festival in Berlin.
Publisher: Android Press (USA)/Smartline Publishers (Ghana), 2024
In the Shadow of the Fall
by Tobi Ogundiran
Tobi Ogundiran is the award-winning author of the Guardian of the Gods duology) and the critically acclaimed British Fantasy Award winning short fiction collection, Jackal, Jackal. He is a finalist for the Locus, World Fantasy, British Science Fiction Association, Shirley Jackson, and Nommo Awards. His short fiction has been featured in anthologies such as Africa Risen, The Book of Witches, Lore & Disorder; educational and Year’s Best anthologies; and the hit podcast LeVar Burton Reads. Born and raised in Nigeria, he works as an Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma.
Publisher: Titan Books, 2024
The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar
Sofia Samatar is a writer of fiction and nonfiction, including the epic fantasy novel A Stranger in Olondria, which won the William L. Crawford Fantasy Award, the British Fantasy Award, and the World Fantasy Award, and was included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time. Sofia also received the 2014 Astounding Award for Best New Writer. Her Nommo Award nominated novella is also winner of a Silver Nautilus Award and a finalist for the Philip K. Dick, Locus, Hugo, and Nebula Awards.
Publisher: Tordotcom, 2024
Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods by Dotun Akande and Murewa Ayodele
Recipient of the (Lagos Comic Con 2023) Fist Award for Writer of the Decade, Murewa Ayodele is the writer of the Nommo-nominated comic book series New Men, Glyph-nominated Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods, the critically acclaimed webcomic series My Grandfather Was a God, and several Marvel comics like Storm, I Am Iron Man, Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood, and Avengers Unlimited Infinity Comic. He is also the co-founder of Collectible Comics NG, a Nigerian comic book studio founded with artist Dotun Akande that was nominated in the Comic Studio of the Year category at the 2018 Fist Awards.
Dotun Akande is an award-winning comic book artist and storyteller, honoured with the FIST Award for Best Cover Artist at Lagos Comic Con 2018. His credits include Marvel titles like I Am Iron Man, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Vengeance of the Moon Knight, and more. He co-founded Collectible Comics NG with writer Murewa Ayodele, FIST Award Writer of the Decade (2023). Together, they co-created the Nommo-nominated New Men, Glyph-nominated Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods, and the webcomic My Grandfather Was a God. With nearly a decade of experience, Dotun has brought over 10 comic titles to life.
Publisher: Oni Press, 2024
You Have Ten Years by Murewa Ayodele, Mamode Ogbewele, Dotun Akande, and Samuel Iwunze
Recipient of the (Lagos Comic Con 2023) Fist Award for Writer of the Decade, Murewa Ayodele is the writer of the Nommo-nominated comic book series New Men, Glyph-nominated Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods, the critically acclaimed webcomic series My Grandfather Was a God, and several Marvel comics like Storm, I Am Iron Man, Moon Knight: Black, White & Blood, and Avengers Unlimited Infinity Comic. He is also the co-founder of Collectible Comics NG, a Nigerian comic book studio founded with artist Dotun Akande that was nominated in the Comic Studio of the Year category at the 2018 Fist Awards.
Mamode Ogbewele is a Lawyer by profession and a Multiple Award Winning Writer (Comic Con Ibadan & Glyph Awards 2024), creative as well as the creator of the critically acclaimed Comic Book titled Grimm’s Assistant (Nommo Awards’ Joint Best Speculative Fiction Graphic Novel by an African of the Year 2024) amongst other works. He merges his Unlimited Imagination with his legal skills and Nigerian Culture to create stories that captivate readers.
Dotun Akande is an award-winning comic book artist and storyteller, honoured with the FIST Award for Best Cover Artist at Lagos Comic Con 2018. His credits include Marvel titles like I Am Iron Man, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Vengeance of the Moon Knight, and more. He co-founded Collectible Comics NG with writer Murewa Ayodele, FIST Award Writer of the Decade (2023). Together, they co-created the Nommo-nominated New Men, Glyph-nominated Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods, and the webcomic My Grandfather Was a God. With nearly a decade of experience, Dotun has brought over 10 comic titles to life.
Samuel Iwunze (aka shaya the artist) is an awarded comic book artist and writer known for his work on Marc Ellison’s Amnesty Media Award winning graphic novel Suffer The Witch Not To Live, DW’s African Roots, Aljazeera’s Motherhood In Crisis and Meta’s No False News Zone. He is co-creator and artist for Comic Republic’s Metalla: the 13th, interior artist for Youneek studios’ The Asiri: volume 1, PocketWatch Press’ Area 51: The Helix Project and Jeff Schiller’s Magic Powder.
Bodies of Sand and Blood
by Plangdi Neple
Plangdi Neple is a Nigerian writer and co-editor at Anathema: Spec from the margins. Plangdi’s work has appeared in several publications, including FIYAH, Baffling, Omenana, Translunar Travelers Lounge, Cast of Wonders, Flame Tree Press, Afterlives 2024: The Year’s Best Death Fiction, and others. He is a Voodoonauts 2024 Fellow, a member of the Clarion West class of 2025 and a Brave New Weird Award winner.
Publisher: Cast of Wonders, 2024
The Future Ancients
by Mwenya Chikwa
Mwenya S. Chikwa is a writer from Kalulushi, Copperbelt, Zambia. When he is not thinking of writing the Zambian version of “The Fifth Season”, which is a constant, he is with family. His work has appeared/forthcoming in Omenana magazine, African Ghosts Short Stories Anthology (Flame Tree), Ubwali Literary Magazine, WTBAP? The Magazine, & Asimov’s. He is an alumnus of the Ubwali Masterclass of 2024
Publisher: WTBAP, 2024
Warning Notes from an Annihilator Machine by Damilola Oyedotun
Plangdi Neple is a Nigerian writer and co-editor at Anathema: Spec from the margins. Plangdi’s work has appeared in several publications, including FIYAH, Baffling, Omenana, Translunar Travelers Lounge, Cast of Wonders, Flame Tree Press, Afterlives 2024: The Year’s Best Death Fiction, and others. He is a Voodoonauts 2024 Fellow, a member of the Clarion West class of 2025 and a Brave New Weird Award winner.
Publisher: Lightspeed, 2024
