Kenyan writer Gladwell Pamba has been shortlisted for the 2026 Caine Prize for African Writing, earning recognition for her short story ‘The Last Shop’.
Pamba is among five writers from across Africa selected for this year’s prestigious literary prize, which celebrates outstanding short fiction by African writers. Her shortlisted story was published in ‘Let’s Conspire and Other Stories’ by Kenyan independent publisher Jahazi Press in 2024.
She joins Melara Mvogdobo of Cameroon, Akinwande Jordan of Nigeria, Yasmine Zohdi of Egypt and Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza of Zimbabwe on the shortlist.
The five stories were selected from more than 400 submissions from across the continent.
Announcing the shortlist, 2026 judging panel chair Bola Mosuro described the selected stories as works distinguished by their originality, with each author bringing a powerful approach to storytelling through tales that are poignant, shocking, moving and quirky.
“These five shortlisted stories stood out with their originality,” Bola Mosuro said. “Each author packed a powerful punch in their storytelling with tales that were poignant, shocking, moving and even quirky. Congratulations to them all.”
For Pamba, the recognition adds to a growing literary record. She is a PhD student at Concordia University in Canada, where she also holds an MA in Creative Writing. She won the Ibua Manuscript Prize in 2024 and the Malahat Review’s Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction in 2025, and her work has appeared in several literary journals and anthologies.
Following the announcement, Pamba said she was “honoured” by the recognition while acknowledging writers and mentors who supported the development of ‘The Last Shop’.
Jahazi Press, publishers of ‘The Last Shop’, also expressed excitement for Gladwell’s recognition.
“As the Jahazi Press team, we are still ecstatic and, a little in disbelief that ‘The Last Shop’ by Gladwell Pamba, published in ‘Let’s Conspire and Other Stories’, has been shortlisted for this year’s Caine Prize for African Writing,” Ahmed Aidarus, Founder of Jahazi Press said. “Kenyan writing is shifting away from political-realist approaches toward the more psychologically oriented. The Last Shop is one of the finest short stories in this new vein. It is also relatively unique in its turn from being Nairobi-biased, in its rural Kenyan setting.”
The Caine Prize winner will receive £10,000, with the winner to be announced at a ceremony in London in October. The shortlisted stories will also appear in the prize’s annual anthology.
