Kenyan poet Khainga O’Okwemba joins jury for 2026 CANEX Prize for Publishing

A Kenyan poet and broadcaster is taking on a new role at one of Africa’s emerging platforms for the publishing industry.

Khainga O’Okwemba has been appointed to the three-member jury for the 2026 CANEX Prize for Publishing, alongside Nigerian scholar and poet Professor Aderemi Raji-Oyelade, who will chair the panel, and South African literary scholar Professor Polo B. Moji.

The announcement was made on August 25 ahead of CANEX WKND 2026, scheduled for November 5 to 8 in Lagos, Nigeria.

The jury will assess eligible publishing entries and select the winner from a competitive field.

Who is Khainga O’Okwemba?

O’Okwemba brings experience from both literature and broadcasting to the panel.

He is a Kenyan poet, essayist and travel writer, and is the producer and presenter of The Books Café on Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC).

He also serves as Sub-Editor of The Mast, a KBC publication.

His appointment gives Kenya representation on a jury that will be examining the publishers responsible for taking African writing, ideas and stories to readers.

That role becomes especially significant as the prize broadens its reach beyond the continent.

The continental literature prize

The CANEX Prize for Publishing, previously known as the CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa, has expanded its eligibility for the 2026 edition to include publishers from CARICOM member states, bringing publishers from the African diaspora into the competition.

The change reflects the broader ambition of the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme, an initiative of the African Export-Import Bank aimed at supporting Africa’s creative and cultural industries through financing, technical support, market access and investment.

For the publishing sector, that means the prize is looking at African literature and publishing not simply as a cultural enterprise, but as part of a larger creative economy with commercial and international potential.

The role of the Kenyan poet and the jury

The jury will first review eligible submissions before narrowing the competition to 10 publishers on the longlist in September.

That number will fall to five finalists in October, with the eventual winner announced at CANEX WKND in Lagos in November.

The winning publisher will receive US$20,000, while each of the four finalists will receive US$2,000.

The prize is therefore not only recognising books or individual authors.

Its focus is on the publishers behind the work - the companies and institutions that decide what gets produced, distributed and ultimately reaches readers.

The impact of the publishing prize

The organizers describe publishing as part of a wider effort to strengthen African literary cultures and help Africa shape how its ideas are valued and represented around the world.

Jury chair Professor Raji-Oyelade said the prize would recognise the work publishers do in bringing books and ideas to readers while strengthening literary cultures.

That makes O’Okwemba’s role particularly relevant to Kenya.

As a poet, literary commentator and broadcaster whose work already centres on books and writers, he brings a perspective shaped by the country's own publishing and literary landscape.

His appointment also places a Kenyan creative professional in a continental conversation about who publishes African stories, which stories travel, and how African publishing can compete in a global market.

The November showcase in Lagos

The jury's work will culminate at CANEX WKND 2026 in Lagos, where the finalists and winner will be recognised as part of the wider creative-industry showcase.

The event is organised under Afreximbank's CANEX programme, which seeks to grow trade, investment and production across Africa's creative and cultural industries.

For Kenya, O’Okwemba's appointment offers more than a place on an international panel.

It places a Kenyan literary voice inside a growing continental effort to turn publishing into a stronger cultural and commercial force - and gives him a front-row seat in deciding which African publishers are doing that work best.