The Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o Prize

(Details and Inaugural dates to be announced soon)

In keeping with the legacy, work, and vision of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, these prizes and awards celebrate writing, translation, and activism that keep marginalized languages alive. By centering African and Indigenous World languages and embracing linguistic diversity worldwide, they honor literature as a force for cultural preservation and language justice.

Prize/Award Categories:

1.) NwT Prize for Literature, Language Justice and Cultural Preservation

Awarded to an individual or group whose literary work and sustained commitment have had an

outstanding impact on marginalized and endangered languages, especially African languages.

2.) NwT Prize for Literary Work in an African Language

For exceptional original literary work written in an indigenous African language.

3.) NwT Prize for Literary Activism and Language Advocacy

To be awarded to writers, scholars, or cultural workers whose literary practices advance

linguistic rights, language preservation, and cultural visibility.

4.) NwT Prize for Translation and Linguistic Bridge-Building

For outstanding translation from marginalized languages (especially African languages) into

other languages, expanding access while honoring linguistic and cultural integrity.

5.) NwT Prize for Marginalized World Languages Literature

For original literary work written in non-dominant or endangered languages from anywhere in

the world.

More to come….