CANEX BOOK FACTORY
CANEX PRIZE FOR PUBLISHING IN AFRICA
CANEX PRIZE FOR PUBLISHING IN AFRICA
PRIZE SUMMARY
Prize value: Winner $20,000; Finalists $2000
1. Eligibility
● Books first published in the preceding calendar year by African publishers within Africa. Books published in the preceding two years will be eligible for this inaugural edition of the Prize.
● Books published in the official languages of the African Union, namely, English, French, Swahili, Portuguese, Arabic, Spanish.
Submissions Open 27 May 2024. Submissions close 30 June 2024.
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for the CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa, books must be first published by African publishers located in Africa. The publication date must be within the eligibility window of the preceding calendar year beginning from 1 January and ending 31 December. For the inaugural year, books published in the preceding two years will be eligible.
Eligibility Criteria for Prize Submissions
Publishers are allowed to submit up to three trade books for the prize. (Trade books are defined for our purposes as books published for a general audience and which are widely available through libraries and bookstores. They include books published in the genres of Fifiction, non-fiction, or poetry, and may be in hardcover and paperback. They do not include: textbooks or academic books for niche readerships.)
Publishers must contact the Prize administrators directly to petition to submit additional
books and answer the following questions:
- Does the quality of the book support its consideration for the prize?
- Is the book otherwise eligible for consideration for the prize?
- How many books does the publisher publish annually; publishers who publish more than 10 titles per annum will be given consideration for a second submission.
Please note that the Prize administrators will keep all information confidential and will communicate their decision directly to the petitioning publisher. No documentation is required beyond written responses via email between the publisher and the Prize administrators.
The following are eligible:
- Trade books in English, French, Arabic, Swahili, Portuguese, Spanish, and any African language, initially published in Africa during the eligibility year.
- Full-length books of fiction and nonfiction.
- Collections of short stories or essays by a single or multiple authors.
- Collected and selected poems by a single or multiple authors.
The following are NOT eligible:
- Books published through self-publishing platforms and services, such as Kindle Direct Publishing.
- Reprints of books from previous Prize years.
- Reprints of books initially published by publishers outside Africa.
- Licensed titles/books first published outside Africa.
SUBMISSION PROCESS
Submitting titles for consideration involves a two-step process:
1. Complete the entry form, which opens on 27 May and closes on 30 June 2024. Please review the eligibility criteria above closely before submitting.
2. Send digital & hard copies of titles submitted via the entry form to the Prize administrators and judges (see section below for details). Deadline for sending digital and hardcopies of titles, after completing the entry form, is 30 June 2024.
Only publishers may submit titles. To maintain the ethical wall between the Judges and publishers whose work may be up for consideration, all communications about submissions must be conducted between the publisher and the Prize Administrators. The publisher is responsible for ensuring that each author is aware of the entry of their book for the CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa. Each publisher must designate one person to coordinate all CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa-related matters with the Prize administrators throughout the Awards process. This person will be contacted in the case that a title becomes part of the Longlist. If this person is new to the process, please make sure they are familiar with all the guidelines and deadlines on this page.
There is no entry fee for submitting a book for Prize consideration but publishers shall bear the cost of delivery of their books to the judges.
CALL IN TITLES
The chair of the judging panel may “call in” titles that have not been submitted by publishers through the Prize administrators’ office. The Prize administrators then ask publishers to submit these titles for consideration, assuming they meet eligibility requirements. Publishers may submit at their own discretion.
PROVIDING DIGITAL & HARD COPIES
For each submitted title, publishers are required to send BOTH a digital copy and four hard copies to guarantee consideration. Publishers must send:
1. A digital copy (in PDF format) directly via the link while completing the entry form.
2. Four hard copies of each book: one copy for the Prize administrators’ office, and one for each of the three judges submitted to a DHL office and addressed to the CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa. Information on the closest DHL office to the publisher shall be included in the confirmation email sent after publishers complete the entry form and are accessed as eligible to submit for the prize.
Publishers who are submitting more than one title will fill a separate entry for each title on their account on the CANEX website. However, the hard copy books may be sent in a single shipment to manage shipping costs.
Deadlines: digital copies must be received by the Prize administrators’ office by 5:00pm CAT on the respective deadline, and hard copies must be postmarked by the same date.
Please also note:
• Digital copies and hard copies of submitted titles should be sent as soon as they are available.
• The panel of judges is not obligated to consider a title if copies are provided after the deadline but may consider the title at its discretion.
PRIZES
There is a single panel of three Judges with a spread of competence in the official languages of the African Union (AU), namely, English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, and Swahili, appointed by the CANEX Book Factory.
● The CANEX Book Factory will announce a Longlist of ten books by mid-August.
● The CANEX Book Factory will announce the five Finalist books by mid-September.
● The Winner will be announced at the CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa Awards Ceremony in October at the CANEX Summit.
● The Winner will receive a prize of $20,000. Each Finalist will receive a prize of $2000. The Winner and the Finalists are obligated to share 10% of their prizes with the author/s of the winning books.
ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS
All publishers submitting books for the CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa must agree to:
● If selected as Finalists, share 10% of their prize money with the author/s of the winning books.
● If selected as Finalists, they must agree to send a representative to the CANEX Book Factory Prize Award events. Travel costs will be borne by the CANEX Book Factory
● The CANEX Book Factory will continue to closely monitor best health and safety practices associated with COVID-19 and future programming, including the CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa Awards Ceremony and related events.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is my self-published book eligible?
Self-published books are not eligible if published via a publishing service, such as Kindle Direct Publishing. However, if a self-publisher: 1) publishes more than one author, and 2) does not publish through an online proprietary publishing service as
previously described, the title would be eligible. The CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa may request a catalog of titles from a self-publisher to verify eligibility.
Can an author submit their own book for consideration?
No. It is a publishing prize. The entry form must be completed by a publisher in order for a book to be considered.
Is it possible to submit a book for consideration even though the entry form deadline has passed?
Unfortunately, no titles can be submitted for consideration after the entry form closes. Additionally, physical copies of submitted titles must be postmarked by the deadline in order to be guaranteed consideration (see Submission Process section). If a book
is postmarked after these dates, the book is considered only at the judges’ discretion.
Can a Publisher submit more than one book for consideration?
Publishers are allowed to submit up to three (3) trade books for the prize. Publishers must contact the Prize administrators directly to petition to submit additional books with answers to several questions outlined in the eligibility criteria above.
Are graphic novels, graphic memoirs, and/or comics eligible for the CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa?
Yes, provided they meet the other eligibility requirements.
Who are the administrators of the CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa? What is CANEX?
The Creatives Africa Nexus (CANEX) is an initiative of Afreximbank, the Africa Export Import Bank. The CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa is part of the CANEX Book Factory, an effort of CANEX in partnership with book industry advocates on the
continent of Africa.
When will the publisher be notified if a book entered for consideration is on the Longlist?
If a book is chosen for the Longlist, the contact person who submitted the book will be notified. For details regarding Longlist, Finalist and, other CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa related announcements, please sign up for our newsletter.
What if I have questions that aren’t answered here?
Please email questions about your submissions to Awards Manager Bookfactory@canex.africa
Technical questions regarding the entry form should be emailed to Support@canex.africa