CANEX Names 2026 Publishing Prize Jury Ahead of Lagos Creative Economy Gathering

CANEX Book Factory has unveiled the jury for its 2026 Prize for Publishing ahead of CANEX WKND 2026, which is scheduled to take place in Lagos, Nigeria, from 5 to 8 November.

The three-member panel will be chaired by Nigerian author and academic Professor Aderemi Raji-Oyelade. He will be joined by South African literary scholar Professor Polo Moji and Kenyan poet and broadcaster Khainga O’Okwemba.

The jury will review eligible entries and select the winning publisher from the competition’s longlist.

Building infrastructure around African publishing

The prize sits within the CANEX Book Factory, a publishing incubator under Afreximbank’s Creative African Nexus programme. The initiative is aimed at strengthening the commercial and institutional ecosystem around African books, including publishing, distribution, rights and the visibility of African literary work.

That broader creative-economy context gives the jury announcement significance beyond the appointments themselves. African publishing remains fragmented across markets, with distribution, financing and access to regional readerships often limiting the ability of publishers to scale.

CANEX has increasingly positioned publishing alongside film, music, fashion and other creative industries as part of Africa’s wider commercial and cultural economy.

Lagos gathering in November

CANEX WKND is expected to bring together participants from across Africa’s creative industries. The publishing prize will form part of that wider programme, creating a platform to recognise publishers while drawing attention to the business structures needed to move African stories across borders.

The 2026 jury also reflects a deliberately cross-regional composition, bringing together literary expertise from Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya.

Source

Afreximbank/CANEX announcement, 25 August 2026.