Abolished – Public Voting as Part of Evaluation of Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize
The move aims to preserve the integrity of the Prize and accord all shortlisted books and authors a fair chance. Kenya, 15 May 2024: The Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize (ARIBP), an annual prize sponsored and managed by Mystery Publishers Limited, a premier pan-African publisher of choice, appreciates your continued support in celebrating independent African authors. The ARIBP aims to recognise quality self-published books with unique and extraordinary stories addressing current and future Africa (Afro-currency and Afro-futurism), and to that end, empowering self-published (indie) authors to produce professional and quality books that meet industry-standard books. Previously, the shortlisted books were taken through a public voting system, which aimed to introduce the books and the authors to the public and different audiences; this contributed to ten per cent (10%) of the overall book evaluation criteria. However, this approach to evaluating shortlisted books conferred an unfair advantage to the authors with a large reader base, popularity, many social media followers, or lobbyists behind them, which does not automatically mean that such works are of better quality. This also created an illusion of winning the Prize because, psychologically (and conveniently so), the human mind will always consider the person or book with many votes as the best (or worst) in that list. In our endeavour to preserve the integrity of the Prize and ensure fairness for all shortlisted books and authors, the ARIBP Secretariat, in consultation with the Advisory Board, has abolished public voting as part of the evaluation criteria of ARIBP. The 2024 and subsequent prizes will only be evaluated by a panel of judges drawn from diverse backgrounds—readers, writers, editors, and publishers (not necessarily a MUST for the panel to comprise all backgrounds). Before submitting the books to the judging panel, Mystery Publishers’ editorial team shall review all submitted books to select those that meet the minimum quality publishing standards for shortlisting. The Judging Panel shall then take the shortlisted books through stringent quality parameters and evaluation criteria and share the reports with the authors. This was a difficult decision, as we know the effect it can have on you. We thank you for your understanding and support during this change, and as always, we promise to endeavour to preserve the integrity of the Prize and accord all independent authors a fair chance. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please get in touch with us at: Email: bookprize@mysterypublisherslimited.com
The Hot Chalice by Hamisi Wawire Voted the Most for the 2023 Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize
From the many submission received for the 2023 Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize, only seven were shortlisted. Public voting ended on 31 May 2023, and Hamisi Wawire’s novel, The Hot Chalice, was voted the most, with 2,055 votes, translating to 49.59% of the votes cast. Muthoni Maina’s story that weaves together multiple generations of women and their stories in a poignant and thought-provoking way, rich in African history and culture, The Leaves of May, came in second, with 829 votes (20%), and Peeling the Cobwebs by Bonface Nyamweya took the third position with 399 votes (9.63%). View the voting results Here. The 2023 Prize was open to Kenyan writers only; of the submissions received, 28% were female. Fiction books were the majority (75%) and non-fiction 25%. Despite the submission guidelines specifying eligible works, 12.5% of the submissions were children’s books. Public voting constitutes 10% of the judging process, with the judging panel determining 90%. Fifty-two countries participated in the voting, the top 20 as shown below: No. Country Votes 1 Kenya 3761 2 United States 145 3 Tanzania 31 4 United Kingdom 28 5 Namibia 21 6 Uganda 17 7 Saudi Arabia 10 8 United Arab Emirates 9 9 Australia 8 10 Qatar 7 11 Somalia 7 12 France 7 13 South Africa 6 14 Germany 6 15 Netherlands 6 16 Canada 6 17 Nigeria 5 18 Italy 4 19 Switzerland 4 20 South Sudan 3 All seven books were submitted to the judging panel, which will evaluate them based on whether they meet publishing industry standards, the author’s writing style and the theme addressed. The winner, if any, will be announced by the Advisory Board in October 2023 at an award ceremony at Alliance Française de Nairobi. Thank you, Kenya, and thank you all for voting.
Shortlist 2023 Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize | Public Voting Open
We are pleased to announce the shortlisted books and authors for the 2023 Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize. The Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize is awarded annually for the best independently published book (fiction, poetry, and non-fiction). The Prize is open to African independent writers resident on the continent and in the diaspora. The Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize is managed by Mystery Publishers, a Kenyan premier pan-African independent publisher with a bias toward African speculative fiction and genre/pop literature stories. The Prize aims to recognise quality self-published books with unique and extraordinary stories addressing current and future Africa (Afro-currency and Afro-futurism) for books at most three (3) years old since publication. The 2023 winner shall receive Ksh 30,000, scholarships to select creative writing courses at Mystery Creative Writing Training Institute and a book distribution offer to all Mystery Publishers distribution channels. The 2023 Prize was only open for Kenyan books/authors, and after thoroughly reviewing the submitted books, public voting is now open for the shortlisted books. Back-fence Talk by Caroline Mbaya Gooka from the Village to the City by Eng. Peter Nduati Beyond by Davis Njoroge The Leaves of May by Muthoni Maina The Hot Chalice by Hamisi Wawire Peeling the Cobwebs by Bonface Nyamweya The Alternative by Peter Muchai Please, vote for the book with the most compelling story that addresses our current and future Africa. Click Here to go to the Voting Board.
2023 Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize Open for Submissions on 01 February 2023
The 2023 edition of the Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize for quality, independently published books (fiction, poetry, and creative/narrative non-fiction) by Kenyan authors shall open for submissions on 01 February 2023. About the Prize. The Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize is an annual prize managed by Mystery Publishers, a Kenyan premier pan-African independent publisher with a bias toward African speculative fiction and genre/pop literature stories. The 2023 winner will be awarded Ksh.30,000. GUIDELINES The Prize is open to Kenyan authors. A Kenyan is a citizen by birth if, on the day of the person’s birth, whether or not the person is born in Kenya, either the mother or father of the person is a citizen or through naturalisation. Self-publishers may submit books on behalf of their authors. Books Eligible Print (hard copies) and eBooks (PDF only). Books submitted should be published in English. Not more than three (3) years since publication (only books published in 2020 and later). Traditionally published books are not eligible. eBooks should not be a gift to download from Amazon. This is because the gift goes to just one person. Because of the judging process, the ebook may need to be read by multiple people. We will not accept invitations to download files from websites. Books submitted should tell an extraordinary story about the present or future of Africa (Afro-currency and Afro-futurism). Submissions end on 15 April 2023. Submission Fee Print books – Ksh.2000 per title. eBooks – Ksh.1,000 per title. Payments to be send to Mystery Publishers through one of the following methods: PayPal or Payoneer, email address mysterypublishers@gmail.com for those using PayPal/Payoneer/international writers, or Lipa M-Pesa, Pay Bill No. 909534 with your name as the account number, Credit/Debit Card payment through Publisher’s online payment gateway, DPO Payments (the Author to contact the publisher for procedures), or Mobile Banking using M-Pesa: Go to M-Pesa>Paybill (put KCB Paybill 522522)>Account No. 1203888244>Amount>Enter your M-Pesa PIN>OK Direct Bank Deposit to: A/c. Name: Mystery Publishers Limited A/c. No. 1203888244 A/ Currency: Kenya Shillings (KES) Bank SWIFT CODE: KCBLKENX Bank: Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Branch: Tom Mboya, Nairobi, Kenya Bank Clearing Code: 01107 Submission Guidelines Five (5) hard copy books for every title submitted are to be dropped at/sent to Nuria Bookstore, The Bazaar Building, Moi Avenue, 11th Floor, Suite No. 1105, Nairobi, addressed as follows: To Mystery Publishers Limited Tel: +254 718 429 184 Book Prize Submission By [Your Name and Contact Details] Once you send or drop your books at Nuria Bookstore, please let us know via email at bookprize@mysterypublisherslimited.com eBook submissions should be through email (bookprize@mysterypublisherslimited.com) as follows: subject heading: ‘Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize submission by YOUR NAME’; Cover email and the eBook attached. PRIZE CRITERIA Selection of submitted books by Mystery Publishers. We look for professionally published books (whether a book is well presented—cover, pictures [if relevant] and layout) following industry standards. The selected books are then taken through public voting, where readers vote for the book with the most extraordinary story to produce a shortlist of ten books. The shortlisted books are forwarded to a judges’ panel comprising beta readers, editors, authors, and publishers. They are given Book Score Sheets to complete for every book received. In general terms, the most important aspects they will be looking for are: whether a book is well written (including structure and style), and Afro-currency and Afro-futurism in the themes. The winning book is announced at an award ceremony at Alliance Francaise de Nairobi, and the winner is awarded the prize money, a trophy, and a certificate. The first and second runners-up will be awarded a certificate. Mystery Publishers shall print 1,000 copies of the winning book and donate them to schools and community libraries. The winning author shall be expected to accompany MPL during these events.
Vote | Nominees for 2022 Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize
Voting ends on 30 November 2022 The Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize is awarded annually to the best independently published book (fiction, poetry, and creative/narrative non-fiction). The Prize is open to Kenyan independent writers resident in Kenya, on the continent, and in the diaspora. The Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize is managed by Mystery Publishers, a Kenyan premier pan-African independent publisher with a bias toward African speculative fiction and genre/pop literature stories. The Prize aims to recognise quality self-published books with unique and extraordinary stories addressing current and future Africa (Afro-currency and Afro-futurism) for books at most three (3) years old since publication. The winner shall receive Ksh 20,000, scholarships to select creative writing courses at Mystery Creative Writing Training Institue, and a book distribution offer to all Mystery Publishers distribution channels. The 2022 Prize was only open for Mystery Publishers’ books/authors, and after thoroughly considering the books published since 2019, public voting is now open for the 2022 shortlisted books. Please, vote for the book with the most compelling story that you feel addresses our current and future Africa. Click here to vote