Seattle, WA – 19 August 2025

 The African Speculative Fiction Society (ASFS) proudly announced the 2025 Nommo Awards Shortlist during Seattle Worldcon, in an online panel themed “Celebrating the Future: African Speculative Fiction Today.”

The Nommo Awards, now in their eighth year, honour excellence in speculative fiction — science fiction, fantasy, and horror — by African writers. The shortlist spans four categories: Best Short Story, Novella, Graphic Novel, and the Ilube Award for Best Novel.

2025 Nommo Awards Shortlist

Short Story

• The Future Ancients — Mwenya S. Chikwa (Will This Be A Problem? The Magazine)

• Bodies of Sand and Blood — Plangdi Neple (Cast of Wonders)

• Warning Notes from an Annihilator Machine — Damilola Oyedotun (Lightspeed Magazine)

• From Across Time — Chisom Umeh (Clarkesworld Magazine)

Novella

• The Year of Return — Ivana Akotowaa Ofori (Android Press)

• In the Shadow of the Fall — Tobi Ogundiran (Tordotcom)

• Lost Ark Dreaming — Suyi Davies Okungbowa (Tordotcom / Masobe Books)

• The Practice, the Horizon and the Chain — Sofia Samatar (Tordotcom)

Graphic Novel

• You Have Ten Years — Murewa Ayodele, Mamode Ogbewele, Dotun Akande & Samuel Iwunze

• Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods — Murewa Ayodele & Dotun Akande (Oni Press)

• Celestial Eyes Vol. 1 — John Uche & Francis Goodluck (The Machine Publishing)

Ilube Award for Best Novel

• The Incredible Dreams of Garba Dakaskus — Umar Abubakar Sidi (Masobe Books)

• The Smoke That Thunders — Erhu Kome (Norton Young Readers)

• Dakini Atoll — Nikhil Singh (Luna Press Publishing)

• Womb City — Tlotlo Tsamaase (Erewhon Books)
  
  

A Global Platform for African Voices

The panel was hosted by award-winning Nigerian author and last year’s Nommo Awards Winner, Wole Talabi, bringing together authors, readers, and fans from across the world to celebrate the vibrant growth of African speculative fiction. Shortlisted authors shared live readings and reflections on the expanding influence of African storytelling on the global stage.

"This year’s shortlist showcases the extraordinary range of African imagination — from epic novels to intimate short stories, bold novellas to vibrant graphic novels - these stories challenge conventions, explore complex themes and experiment with form." Wole Talabi

The winners of the 2025 Nommo Awards will be announced at the Ake Arts and Book Festival, Nigeria, in November 2025.

Beyond the Awards

In addition to the shortlist announcement, ASFS also hosted two further panels at Seattle Worldcon and readings from former Nommo Award winners including:

• Drawing Futures: African Speculative Storytelling in Visual Form— exploring the rise and global impact of African SF Graphic Novels.

• Ask the Scientist (Applied African SF) — a dialogue between scientists and authors on how African speculative fiction and science can collaborate to imagine future possibilities.
  
  

Supporting Links:

• Seattle Worldcon 2025

• Applied African SF website 

• ASFS YouTube channel for recording of all Seminars and Events