The winner will be announced on June 19, 2024.
By Hope Ibiale
The jury for the 2024 Encore Awards has announced the shortlisted writers. On the list is Nigerian writer, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, whose sophomore novel, A Spell of Good Things, is shortlisted alongside A.K Blakemore’s The Glutton, Isabella Hammad’s Enter Ghost, Úna Mannion’s Tell Me What I Am, and Megan Nolan’s Ordinary Human Failings. The winner will be announced on June 19, 2024, and awarded £15,000.
While describing Adébáyọ̀’s work, the judges said, “A Spell of Good Things is a superb portrayal of two families living in modern Nigeria and the impact of wealth, power and political corruption on their circumstances. It is a modern African novel building on a strong Nigerian literary tradition”.
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀’s is a Nigerian author. Her debut novel, Stay With Me, won the 9mobile Prize for Literature and the Prix Les Afriques. It was also longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award and the Dylan Thomas Prize.
The Encore Award was first presented in 1990 to celebrate the achievement of excellent second novels. The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) has administered the award since 2016. This year’s judges are Fergal Keane, Malika Booker and Maura Dooley.