Winners of the BSFA Awards will be revealed April 3-6, 2026, at Eastercon 2026 (Iridescence) at the Hilton Lanyon Place and Birmingham Metropole, with voting closing February 19, 2026.
By Abioye Damilare Samson
African writers have secured nearly 30 nominations across seven categories at the 2026 British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) Awards. The longlist, recognising work published in 2025, features established names alongside emerging voices, with writers earning multiple nominations for their contributions to the genre.
The BSFA Awards, presented annually since 1970, are voted on by BSFA members and Eastercon attendees. Winners will be revealed April 3-6, 2026, at Eastercon 2026 (Iridescence) at the Hilton Lanyon Place and Birmingham Metropole, with voting closing February 19, 2026.
Eugen Bacon leads the nominations with an impressive eight appearances across four categories: Best Artwork (cover design by Stephen Embleton), Best Short Fiction (three stories), Best Short Non-Fiction (one essay), and Best Shorter Fiction (two novellas). Bacon’s nominated works span diverse subgenres and formats, from the essay “Spec Fic and the Politics of Identity: Finding the Self in Other” in Strange Horizons to novellas Novic and The Nga’phandileh Whisperer: A Sauútiverse Novella. Nigerian author Tade Thompson earned two nominations in the short and shorter fiction categories for “The Flaming Embusen” and “The Apologists”, both published in Clarkesworld and Uncanny Magazine, respectively.
The Best Novel category features six African writers: Nnedi Okorafor for Death of the Author, M.H. Ayinde for A Song of Legends Lost, Nuzo Onoh for Futility, Moroccan-American author Laila Lalami for The Dream Hotel, Nkereuwem Albert for The Bone River, and Adam Oyebanji for Esperance. This represents significant representation in one of the awards’ most competitive categories, demonstrating how African writers are claiming space in mainstream science fiction publishing through major houses like Gollancz, Orbit, and Titan Books.
Emerging voices appear prominently in the shorter fiction categories, where Peter Nena’s “Babies Don’t Grow in People” (published in Will This Be A Problem Magazine), Somto Ihezue’s “We Begin Where Infinity Ends”, Adedapo Adeniyi’s “Wanderer”, Wole Talabi’s “Descent”, Chisom Umeh’s “Ancestor’s Gift”, and Rutendo Chidzodzo’s “Let Sleeping Hyenas Lie” earned recognition.
South African author C.L. Hellisen secured a nomination for “Shadow Jack”, while Zimbabwean author T.L. Huchu’s “Secrets of the First School” represents African writers in the Best Fiction for Young Readers category. Collections by Cheryl S. Ntumy (Black Friday) and Jesutomisin Ipinmoye (How To Get Rid Of Ants) complete the impressive showing across categories.
This year’s longlist demonstrates the growing visibility of African speculative fiction and its integration into the broader British science fiction community, with African writers publishing in prestigious magazines such as Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, and Uncanny Magazine, alongside major genre presses.
See the African titles nominated below:
Best Artwork:
- Stephen Embleton for Cover: The Company of Birds by Nerine Dorman (February 2025 edition)
- Stephen Embleton for Cover: The Nga’phandileh Whisperer by Eugen Bacon
Best Collection:
- Cheryl S. Ntumy – Black Friday
- Jesutomisin Ipinmoye – How To Get Rid Of Ants
- Andre M. Carrington (editor) – The Black Fantastic: 20 Afrofuturist Stories
Best Novel:
- Nnedi Okorafor – Death of the Author
- M. H. Ayinde – A Song of Legends Lost
- Nuzo Onoh – Futility
- Laila Lalami – The Dream Hotel
- Nkereuwem Albert – The Bone River
- Adam Oyebanji – Esperance
Best Short Fiction:
- Eugen Bacon – Kinje’kitile and the Jintu
- Eugen Bacon – The Shadow Eater of Órino-Rin’
- Eugen Bacon – AI Chronicles: Properties of a Human Curse
- Tade Thompson – The Flaming Embusen
- Cheryl S. Ntumy – Listen, Don’t Touch
- Chisom Umeh – Ancestor’s Gift
- Rutendo Chidzodzo – Let Sleeping Hyenas Lie
Best Short Non Fiction:
- Eugen Bacon – Spec Fic and the Politics of Identity: Finding the Self in Other
- Jacqueline Nyathi – Collective Dreaming: The Schrodinger’s Cat Approach to Framing Futures
Best Shorter Fiction:
- Peter Nena – Babies Don’t Grow in People
- Eugen Bacon – Novic
- Tade Thompson – The Apologists
- Wole Talabi – Descent
- Somto Ihezue – We Begin Where Infinity Ends
- Adedapo Adeniyi – Wanderer
- Eugen Bacon – The Nga’phandileh Whisperer: A Sauútiverse Novella
- C.L. Hellisen – Shadow Jack
Best Fiction for Young Readers:
- T. L. Huchu – Secrets of the First School
For a complete longlist of nominees, see here.