2020 Nommo Awards for Speculative Fiction by Africans

The announcement of the winners for the African Speculative Fiction Society’s 2020 Nommo Awards, which had been rescheduled out of respect for the people injured in the recent protests in Lagos and other Nigerian cities, went ahead in a virtual ceremony on October 25 with awards being presented by Tade Thompson, past winner of the Ilube Nommo Award and the Clarke Award, Chinelo Onwualu, co-founder Omenana Magazine, Mame Bougouma Diene, author and ASFS officer, and Setor Fiadzigbey, co-winner of the 2018 Nommo Award for best comic. 

The 2020 Ilube Nommo Award for Best Novel

  • David Mogo, Godhunter by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

Voting narrowly gave the victory that work over The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell.

The 2020 Nommo Award for Novella

  • Incompleteness Theories by Wole Talabi

This is his second Nommo Award.  The novella comes from Talabi’s single-author collection Incomplete Solutions.

The 2020 Nommo Award for Short Story

[Tie]

  • “Tiny Bravery” by Ada Nnadi
  • “Sin Eater” by Chikodili Emelumadu

Both stories were published by the Nigeria-based online journal Omenana.

 The 2020 Nommo Award for Graphic Novel/Comic

  • DANFO by Morakinyo Araoye, and Steven Akinyemi (authors) Ogim Ekpezu (artist)  (TAG Comics)

The Nommo Awards were established in 2016.  The roughly 200 published authors and artists who are members of the African Speculative Fiction Society first nominate and then vote for the winners.  The Awards recognize work in the four categories by African creators across multiple genres including fantasy, interstitial fiction, science fiction, spiritual fiction, Afrofuturism, Africanfuturism and horror.

The Ilube Nommo Awards are named after Tom Ilube, CBE who sponsors the prize money for all four awards.  This year additional funding was received via Africa Storybundle from Apex Publications and Shadreck Chikoti.

For a full listing of the short lists and winners of previous Nommos visit the ASFS website