The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has appointed a three-member jury for the 2026 CANEX Prize for Publishing, with the winning publisher set to receive $20,000.
The CANEX Book Factory, a publishing incubator under Afreximbank’s Creative African Nexus (CANEX) Programme, announced the jury ahead of CANEX WKND 2026, scheduled to hold from November 5 to 8 in Lagos.
Renowned Nigerian author and academic, Professor Aderemi Raji-Oyelade, will chair the jury, alongside South African literary scholar, Professor Polo Moji, and Kenyan poet-broadcaster, Khainga O’Okwemba.
The panel will review eligible entries and select the winning publisher from a competitive longlist.
Raji-Oyelade’s appointment brings decades of literary expertise to the competition and is expected to strengthen discussions around the role of publishers of Global African ideas in reclaiming the narrative, boosting Africa’s valuation and supporting sustainable development across the diaspora and beyond.
