We are thrilled to announce that we won the inaugural 2024 CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa at a ceremony held in Algiers during the recently concluded CANEX Weekend. The award celebrates Female Fear Factory by renowned South African scholar and feminist author Professor Pumla Dineo Gqola, a book that boldly confronts the pervasive culture of patriarchal violence.

Launched by the CANEX Book Factory, the $20,000 CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa recognises the best trade book in both fiction and non-fiction genres by an African publisher. It is an essential step in championing African stories and voices, rewarding publishers who challenge the status quo and forge new narratives. Female Fear Factory: Unveiling Patriarchy’s Culture of Violence, explores how women are forced to live under the daily spectre of violence and fear, providing a powerful, unflinching account of the mechanism of patriarchal control, while offering feminist strategies to dismantle it.

Author Pumla Dineo Gqola said, ”This recognition of my book Feminist Female Factory and its publisher, Cassava Republic Press by the CANEX Prize for Publishing in Africa is truly wonderful. I am delighted by the jury’s rewarding of a work of African feminist intervention and, indeed, the existence of this award category”.

 “This recognition speaks not only to the intellectual clarity and bravery of Pumla Dineo Gqloa’s writing, but to the strength and tenacity of African publishers, said Layla Mohamed, Editor at Cassava Republic Press. “The CANEX Prize underscores the need for a strong and supported African publishing ecosystem who are building the infrastructures for the production of African stories and challenging long-standing power dynamics in the global publishing world.”

The jury, chaired by Dr. Wale Okediran, praised Professor Gqola’s Female Fear Factory for its bold editorial risk, urgency, and timely message. As the CANEX Prize platform grows, it also signals that the infrastructures for African stories must expand, creating space for African writers and publishers to thrive on their own terms.

Cassava Republic Press, a proud women-owned, Black publishing house, continues to defy industry norms. With a presence in Abuja and London, the press has spent 17 years championing African and Diasporic voices, publishing works that traverse continents and cultures, from Lagos to London, Nairobi to New York. This award is not just a moment of recognition for this brilliant book, but a marker in the broader movement for Black literary independence.