2023 Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize Shortlist Public Voting Closed |

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.

Please, vote for the book with the most compelling story that addresses our current and future Africa.

Genre: Fiction/Short Stories

Language: English

Year Published: 2020

A collection of seven stories about seven women, each on a unique journey. Back-fence Talk and Other Vices employs its all-female narrator ensemble to give a snapshot of day-to-day Kenyan lives, what the East African newspaper described as “stories simply told for the reader to find their place”.

The title story pokes fun at the clandestine manner in which Kenyans engage the services of ‘Traditional Healers’, and in ‘The Moneylender’, the familiar scourge of indebtedness is explored by an unreliable narrator.

Whatever your view of these women, their stories will challenge your ideas about life, loyalty, and loss. The Sunday Standard described it as a “Heady mix of love, greed, hope …” praising the author’s ability to weave “a commentary about urban life, social-economic, and political undertones that colour Kenyans everyday interactions…”

Genre: Non-fiction (Memoirs)

Language: English

Year Published: 2022

We live life forwards but understand it by looking backwards. In the book Gooka: From the Village to the City are the author’s 21st century daily experiences mirrored in his village days. The author starts from the comfort of a ZOOM class and jogs around the estate making rare encounters. Then you walk with him through Nairobi City Centre and stroll down River Road. As you walk through the city, you discover hidden gems about Nairobi’s past. The author then walks you through libraries, and you experience time on golf courses. You visit a Mombasa beach and the Nairobi Animal Orphanage, where you learn a thing or two about hyenas, lions and leopards, buffaloes, cheetahs, porcupines and other animals. Eventually, the author takes his grandchildren to school.

All these experiences are presented in 24 short stories. In each are the author’s daily experiences toggled and enmeshed with the past, making the narrative both semi-biographical and a social commentary. The social commentary is moulded in historical, scientific, and mathematical satire. The episodes are presented in easy, informative poetry and prose. The social commentary is intellectually hygienic and inspirational as the author attempts to fulfil his mission to inform, persuade, entertain, and inspire. Whatever age or career, the stories in this anthology make you reflect on your own life.

Genre: Fiction/Sci-Fi (Novel)

Language: English

Year Published: 2022

Attention all lovers of epic sci-fi adventures and novel readers! Are you ready for a thrill ride that will take you beyond the stars and across the edges of space? Look no further than Beyond, the gripping novel that will leave you breathless.

Maxwell’s life has taken an unexpected turn for the first time since gaining his extraordinary powers in his infancy. Despite his efforts to keep himself invisible to people, since he believes they will be afraid of his meta-human side, he becomes a target of two powerful rival alien civilisations; the Sirians and the Raxobusians. The Sirian and the Raxobusian civilisations believe Max to be the link to the most powerful weapon in existence, Annihilate. They will stop at nothing until they find the weapon before the other.

Max must confront his fears, learn to control his powers and rise to the challenge of protecting not just humanity but every living being in the universe from a universal massacre. With each step of the journey, Max’s resolve is tested, and the stakes get higher. Will Max be able to save the universe from certain destruction, or will the Raxobusians succeed in their plans of a universal annihilation? You’ll have to read “Beyond” to find out.

This is a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. So vote for Beyond and join Max on his epic adventure beyond the stars.

Genre: Fiction (Novel)

Language: English

Year Published: 2022

The Leaves of May is a gripping and poignant tale that follows the journeys of three remarkable women across three generations. Through their eyes, readers are invited to explore the themes of identity, resilience, and the enduring power of family as they navigate the complex web of relationships centred around the man at the heart of it all. As their lives intersect and intertwine, the story portrays the bonds that connect us, the struggles that shape us, and the resilience that sustains us.

May is recently engaged and seeking to reunite with her father, so she reaches out to her grandmother and, in doing so, uncovers shocking truths about her family’s history. Lili is a fierce single mother and divorcee; as she navigates the challenges of raising her daughter alone, she realises that she will still face judgement despite her best efforts. Sheche is haunted by painful memories from her past and struggles to keep a long-buried secret hidden from her son.

Note from the Author: What makes The Leaves of May unique is its ability to weave 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 takes readers on a journey through time, from colonialism’s painful legacy to Africa’s vibrant present-day cultures. By voting for The Leaves of May in the 2023 Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize, you are promoting African literature and history to a broader audience.

As an indie author, winning the Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize would be a dream come true. It would not only help to bring greater visibility to my work, but it would also be a tremendous validation of all the hard work that went into creating this novel.

So I am asking for your vote and your support. Please take a moment to read The Leaves of May, and if you find it as inspiring and moving as I do, please consider voting for it in the Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Genre: Fiction (Novel)

Language: English

Year Published: 2022

When an institution as old as man himself and as sacred as the Kaaba is under attack, everybody is concerned.

In this scintillating story, Mwekezi’s early orientation to love by her mother Nasirombe comes back to haunt them. Injendi walks into Mwekezi’s life prepared to marry her. However, beside him is a workmate, a friend, Nekesa, whom he treats as a sister. To Mwekezi, with her traditional upbringing, a lady close to a gentleman she is not related to without romance is impossible.

Mr Oluoch, the Deputy Human Resources Manager at Ginocent Real Help Organization working under Injendi, who is his Human Resources Manager, has always wanted to overthrow him due to his age and education. Unfortunately, he cannot achieve this professionally—Injendi is ideal. He uses his position as the best couple during his boss’s wedding to quietly and cunningly employ the services of his wife Phoebe without her knowledge. The lie that breaks the marriage is that Injendi is romantically involved with Nekesa.

Mwekezi takes everything as the gospel truth and kills Nekesa. With the help of her father, Tikini, an ex-army officer, Scholasticah and her daughter runs to Uganda. She later meets Lualua, a Congolese and gets married. She uses her past to peddle lies about men and indoctrinates her daughter. Later, Scholasticah fails to fit in the school system, and her feeling that men wrongly treated her mother makes her set out on a revenge mission, only to realise that we all need each other, for men have always saved her.

Genre: Fiction (Novel)

Language: English

Year Published: 2022

Peeling the Cobwebs is a novel based in an imaginary African country called Ricafa. It deals mainly with tribalism, a contemporary menace of harmony in several African countries. The novel features Uturoho and Nyorita as the main characters who stand out in an attempt to efface tribalism. The novel is fascinating in its usage of vivid description, imagery, metaphors, biblical allusion and flashback.

Genre: Fiction (Novel)

Language: English

Year Published: 2022

The Alternative is a Kenyan story set in Nairobi, tackling pertinent and important issues affecting contemporary Kenya. Crime is not just the usual burglary, mugging or pick-pocketing but grand larceny perfected into art by those in power entrusted with the county’s future.

2023 Afrika Redefined Indie Book Prize Short List
Back-Fence Talk and Other Vices (2020)
Back-Fence Talk and Other Vices (2020) 160 ( 3.86 % )
Gooka: From the Village to the City by Eng. Peter NDUATI (2022)
Gooka: From the Village to the City by Eng. Peter NDUATI (2022) 266 ( 6.42 % )
Beyond by Davis Njoroge (2022)
Beyond by Davis Njoroge (2022) 81 ( 1.95 % )
The Leaves of May by Muthoni Maina (2022)
The Leaves of May by Muthoni Maina (2022) 829 ( 20 % )
The Hot Chalice by Hamisi Wawire (2022)
The Hot Chalice by Hamisi Wawire (2022) 2055 ( 49.59 % )
Peeling the Cobwebs by Bonface Nyamweya (2022)
Peeling the Cobwebs by Bonface Nyamweya (2022) 399 ( 9.63 % )
The Alternative by Peter Muchai (2022)
The Alternative by Peter Muchai (2022) 354 ( 8.54 % )