The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual award given to the best short story written by an African author, whether they live in Africa or elsewhere, and published in English. It was started in the United Kingdom in 2000. The prize, worth £10,000, is named to honor businessman and philanthropist Sir Michael Harris Caine, who was once a leader of the Booker Group and the Booker Prize committee. The Caine Prize is sometimes called the "African Booker." The Chair of the Board is Ellah Wakatama, who was chosen in 2019.

From 2020 to 2022, the prize was called the AKO Caine Prize for African Writing because of a three-year grant from Nicolai Tangen's AKO Foundation.

History and background

The Caine Prize is a charity that is officially recognized. Its goal is to share African writing with more people by giving an annual literary award. The prize is named after Sir Michael Caine (1927–1999), a businessman and helper who worked for Booker plc. He also led the "Africa95" arts festival and the Booker Prize management committee for nearly 25 years. After he passed away, friends and coworkers created the prize to honor his memory.

The prize was first given in 2000 to Leila Aboulela, a Sudanese writer, for her short story "The Museum." This happened at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair in Harare. In its first year, the Caine Prize received entries from 20 African countries.

The judges come from different areas of literature. They include well-known authors, artists, journalists, broadcasters, and academics who are connected to African literature.

In the past, the winner was announced at a dinner in July. This event was originally held in Oxford but now takes place at SOAS, University of London. All shortlisted candidates were invited to attend. This event was part of a week of activities for the candidates, such as readings, book signings, and press opportunities.

In 2024, the Caine Prize announced it would focus more on the African continent. It plans to celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2025 with events lasting one year. These events will include readings and discussions with shortlisted writers and past winners. They will also honor writers like Charles Mungoshi (Zimbabwe), who was shortlisted in 2000, and Binyavanga Wainaina (Kenya), who won the award in 2002.

The Caine Prize also organizes writers’ workshops. These workshops are held in a different African country each year.

25th Anniversary and the Best of Caine Award

In 2025, the Caine Prize celebrated its 25th anniversary. In 2024, the prize announced it would focus more on the African continent, with a planned year-long celebration. Events included readings and discussions with shortlisted writers and past winners, as well as special recognitions for writers such as the late Charles Mungoshi, who was shortlisted in 2000, and the late Binyavanga Wainaina, who won the award in 2002.

To honor the anniversary, the prize created the Best of Caine award, an honorary prize to recognize the best short story from all previous Caine Prize winners over the past 25 years.

Zimbabwean writer NoViolet Bulawayo was named the winner of the Best of Caine award on September 27, 2025, at the first Words Across Waters: Afro Lit Fest at the British Library in London. Bulawayo won for her story "Hitting Budapest," which originally won the Caine Prize in 2011. The story, which follows children sneaking into a wealthy neighborhood to steal fruit, was praised by judges for its "strong words, unique voice, and exciting story."

The judging panel for the honorary award was led by Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah and included novelist Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi and film producer Tony Tagoe. Bulawayo called the achievement a "defining highlight" that confirmed her path as a writer and strengthened her dedication to writing.

Supporters

Supporters of the prize include friends of Sir Michael Caine in the UK, United States, and Africa, as well as several organizations such as the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, the Zochonis Foundation, the Marit & Hans Rausing Foundation, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, the Headley Trust, the Esmee Fairbairn Charitable Trust, the David Alliance Family Foundation, the Cairns Charitable Trust, the Botwinick-Wolfensohn Family Foundation, the Sunrise Foundation, the Von Clemm Charitable Trust, the Royal Over-Seas League, Sarova Hotels, Bata Shoes (Kenya) Ltd, Bata Shoes (Zimbabwe) Ltd, and Kenya Airways.

The five African winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature who support the Caine Prize as patrons are Wole Soyinka, Nadine Gordimer, Naguib Mahfouz, J. M. Coetzee, and Abdulrazak Gurnah. Sir Michael Caine’s wife, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, was the founding president of the council. Jonathan Taylor was the first chair, and Nick Elam was the first administrator.

Critical reception

In 2011, Nigerian-American writer and critic Ikhide Ikheloa said the Caine Prize might have an unexpected result: encouraging writers to create stereotypes about Africa to gain recognition. He noted that the stories on the 2011 shortlist were often unoriginal and celebrated common ideas and average quality. He also said many writers are changing their writing to match what they think Western readers and Caine Prize judges would prefer.

In 2019, a story was removed from the shortlist after an accusation led to the admission that the author failed to credit a key source, which was Laleh Khadivi's 2014 story.