Announcing the 2024 Shortlist
We are delighted to reveal the shortlist for the 2024 edition of The Isele Short Story Prize.
The short stories that appear on here respond to the central focus of our magazine, which is to publish works that explore themes that challenge conventional expectations, works that hold a mirror to society and continually remind us of the transformative power of stories and the beauty of language. Publishing them was an honor.
Here are the shortlisted stories in no particular order:
“Propane, Propane” by Alex Leslie
Alex Leslie has published two collections of stories — People Who Disappear, shortlisted for a Lambda Award for debut LGBT fiction and We All Need to Eat shortlisted for the BC Book Prize — and two collections of poetry — Things I heard about you and Vancouver for Beginners, which was shortlisted for the City of Vancouver Book Prize and won the Western Canada Jewish Book prize for poetry. Alex recently completed a novel and is working on a new collection of short stories. New work is in Periodicities and Yolk. Website: alexlesliewriting.ca.
“She Lingers” by Okoronkwo Chisom
Okoronkwo Chisom is a first-class graduate of English Language and Literature. She is the winner of the Shuzia “Journey of the Soul,” Poetry Competition 2023. She has been shortlisted in the Isele Short Story Prize 2024, Vweta Chadwick Poetry Prize 2023, Eriata Oribhabor Poetry Prize 2022, African Feminist Short Story Prize 2022, Tonqo Publishers Short Story Prize 2023, Splendours of Dawn Poetry Contest, August-October edition 2022 and YouthHubAfrica FGM contest, September edition 2022. Her works have been published in Isele Magazine, Brittle Paper, PoetryColumn, New Man Gospel Magazine, World Voices Magazine, Icreative Review, Blue Marble Review, Nigerian Review, Lunar Journal, and elsewhere.
“Parental Material” by Crystal Gross
Crystal Gross is a writer living in New Orleans, Louisiana with her partner and two young children. She works as a writing coach at Delgado Community College and serves as a fiction reader for Mud Season Review. Crystal writes short stories, essays, and has a novel in progress. She holds an MFA in fiction from Southern New Hampshire University.
“Origin Of Giant Trees” by Elisha Oluyemi
Elisha Oluyemi (a Yorùbá writer and the editor-in-chief of Fiery Scribe Review) won the Brigitte Poirson Literature Prize for Short Story (2023) and the Ikenga Short Story Prize (2023). His writing’s forthcoming in the Witsprouts Anthology (2024) and UNBOUND: Anthology of Nigerian Poets Under-40 (Griot’s Lounge, 2024). His other writing appears in Strange Horizons, Isele Magazine, Lolwe, Mystery Tribune, Mukana, BAM Quarterly, Milton Review, Bitchin’ Kitsch, Sledgehammer, and elsewhere. He loves classical music, the Korean language, and the mystery of the criminal mind. He writes psychological/literary fiction but is struggling with an SFF novella. Tweets @ylisha_cs. https://linktr.ee/elishaoluyemi
“fritɔŋ surreal” by Victor Forna
Victor Forna is a Sierra Leonean writer based in his country’s capital city Freetown. His short fiction and poetry have been published in Stange Horizons, Apex Magazine, Fantasy Magazine, Lightspeed Magazine, and elsewhere. In 2021, he made the Short Story Day Africa Prize shortlist and is an alumnus of the 2022 AKO Caine Prize Writing Workshop. He tweets @vforna12. For more, https://linktr.ee/vforna.
“Is it Too Late?” by Pegah Ouji
Pegah Ouji is an Iranian American writer who writes in Farsi and English. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Joyland, Isele Magazine, Hamilton Stone Review, Fugue, and Takahe. She is currently an Emerging Writer Fellow at Smokelong Quarterly as well as a writing and editorial fellow at Roots, Wounds, Words. Twitter: @oujipegah
Announcing the 2024 Longlist
This is the third year of the Isele Prizes!
For this edition, we are delighted to share that these stories capture our mission, which is to provide a platform for works that hold a mirror to our society, works that continually remind us of the transformative power of stories and the beauty of language.
On that note, here are the longlisted stories in no particular order:
“fritɔŋ surreal” by Victor Forna
“The Dinner Party” by Percy Bharucha
“To Live a Little” by Alissia J.R. Lingaur
“Atlas Raging Gale” by Mohamed Mahou
“Dreams of a City” by Nawawi Sani-Deen
“Propane, Propane” by Alex Leslie
“Is it Too Late?” by Pegah Ouji
“Potential for Beauty” by Nelson CJ
“Parental Material” by Crystal Gross
“Origin Of Giant Trees” by Elisha Oluyemi
“She Lingers” by Okoronkwo Chisom
Jennifer Dickinson Wins the 2023 Isele Short Story Prize
for “Pink Flower”
It is a rare gift when we come across a story that is feels so fully realized, so engaging, so polished. The dialogue in “Pink Flower” is sharp and flows effortlessly, producing the perfect balance of tension and light, bringing the reader so deeply into the characters that we become the characters. Jennifer Dickinson establishes an authority and relatability within her writing that feels like she’s paying homage to all women from all walks of life. There is an enigmatic atmosphere within the story that is laden with subtext—painful and yet dripping with dry humor.
“Pink Flower” is a brilliant representation of the female gaze, picking at the scabs of vulnerability and cultural expectations—revealing the strength, wisdom, and healing that women can find as we grow older—when we free ourselves from social constructs and take off our armor and open our hearts to friendship with other women.
Read “Pink Flower.”
Announcing the Shortlist
“The Returnee” by Michelle Enehiwealu Iruobe
Michelle Enehiwealu Iruobe is a Nigerian writer. Her stories appear in Lolwe, Isele Magazine, Kalahari Review, Artmosterrific, and elsewhere. She is passionate about remarkable writing and visual arts.
“The Tenderness of Iron” by Ishola Abdulwasiu Ayodele
Ishola Abdulwasiu Ayodele is an alumnus of ANA/Yusuf Ali Creative Writing Workshop, Tell Fiction Masterclass and Transcendence Poetry Workshop. First prize winner of the 2022 Ibua Journal Bold Continental Poetry Prize, his work has been published on African Writer, Isele Magazine, Omenana Speculative Fiction Magazine, Iskanchi, Ibua Journal, Brittle Paper and elsewhere.
He was a residence director at Artmosterrific and creative writing mentor for Boot Camp X Leadership Academy and SprinNG Writing Fellowship. With interest in humanitarianism, community development and mental health, he is the founder of Firefly Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring excellence in Nigerian youths. He enjoys art, astrology and mysticism. He tweets @IsholaAbdulwasi
“Pink Flower” by Jennifer Dickinson
Jennifer Dickinson is a graduate of Hollins University. Her writing has appeared in The Florida Review, Beloit Fiction Journal, Maudlin House, Isele Magazine, Mom Egg Review, and elsewhere. The recipient of a Hedgebrook residency and a grant from the Barbara Deming Memorial Foundation, she works as a writing teacher and book coach in Los Angeles. Connect with Jennifer at jenniferdickinsonwrites.com
“Weaving” by Yvonne Kusiima
Yvonne Kusiima is a writer from Kampala, Uganda whose work appears in African Writer Magazine, Isele, Kalahari Review, Brittle Paper and elsewhere. She is currently at work on a short story collection.
“Potluck Jollof” by Nnamdi Anyadu
Nnamdi Anyadu’s work explores human interactions within the texture of futurist possibilities and doctrinal re-imaginations. His writing has appeared in Iskanchi, Omenana, Down River Road, and The Ake Review. He anchors book chats on his Instagram: @the_africanist and lives in Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria.
The Isele Short Story Prize 2023: Longlist Announced
We are delighted to announce the longlist for the 2023 edition of The Isele Short Story Prize.
The short stories we publish at Isele Magazine are brilliant and defiant, and this made narrowing down the longlist quite challenging. Our in-house judges agreed that the stories on this list capture our mission: to provide a platform for works that hold a mirror to our society. These writers continually remind us of the transformative power of stories and the beauty of language. Publishing them was an honor.
On that note, see the longlist in no particular order:
“Master Zambezi” by Ola W. Halim
“Pink Flower” by Jennifer Dickinson
“Millie Lorraine” by Josephine Sarvaas
“The Returnee” by Michelle Enehiwealu Iruobe
“Weaving” by Yvonne Kusiima
“Heart Weeds” by Shaun Anthony McMichael
“Potluck Jollof” by Nnamdi Anyadu
“When James Baldwin Came To Atlanta” by Charles Stephens
“The Tenderness of Iron” by Ishola Abdulwasiu Ayodele
“The Baby Doesn’t Have A Name” by Ahmad Adedimeji Amobi
Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo Wins the Isele Short Story Prize for “The Year of the Sun”
Okonkwo’s exceptional short story explores the difficult conversations we have about how we love, our culture and traditions, and the relationship we have with our history. Her language pulses and her structure is controlled. This is a masterfully crafted story, which immerses you in the setting as she builds this world with mathematical precision, such that a reader, even if they aren’t familiar with the period and the culture, sees themselves in her characters. This story stays with you.
Read “The Year of the Sun.”
Announcing the Shortlist
“The Year of the Sun” by Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo
Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She’s currently pursuing a PhD in Creative Writing at Florida State University. A 2021 recipient of the Elizabeth George Foundation Grant, her fiction has appeared in Isele Magazine, Guernica, and Catapult. She is at work on her debut novel.
“Right” by Rilla Askew
Rilla Askew received a 2009 Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She is the author of five novels, a book of stories, and a collection of creative nonfiction, Most American: Notes from a Wounded Place. Askew is a PEN/Faulkner finalist and two-time recipient of the Western Heritage Award. Her novel about the Tulsa Race Massacre, Fire in Beulah, received the American Book Award in 2002. Askew’s essays and short fiction have appeared in Isele, AGNI, Tin House, World Literature Today, and elsewhere. Her novel about the Early Modern writer and martyr Anne Askew, Prize for the Fire, will be published by OU Press in 2022. She teaches creative writing at the University of Oklahoma.
“Sunset Dreams” by Troy Onyango
Troy Onyango is a writer and editor from Kisumu. His work has been published in Prairie Schooner, Doek!, Wasafiri, Isele Magazine, Johannesburg Review of Books, AFREADA, Nairobi Noir, Dgëku Magazine, and Transition among others. The winner of the inaugural Nyanza Literary Festival Prize and first runner-up in the Black Letter Media Competition, he has also been shortlisted for the Caine Prize, the Short Story Day Africa Prize, the Brittle Paper Awards, and nominated for the Pushcart Prize. An alumnus of the Caine Prize Workshop, Miles Morland Workshop, Jalada Workshop, Goethe Workshop and the Kwani?-SLS Workshop, he has also been a writer-in-residence at the Ebedi Writers Residency in Nigeria. He graduated from the University of Nairobi with a Bachelor of Laws degree and completed his MA in Creative Writing with distinction from the University of East Anglia, where he was a recipient of the Miles Morland Foundation Scholarship. He is currently studying towards an MA in African Studies at SOAS University of London. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Lolwe. His collection of short stories FOR WHAT ARE BUTTERFLIES WITHOUT THEIR WINGS is forthcoming in 2022.
“Souvenir” by Roseline Mgbodichinma
Roseline Mgbodichinma is a Nigerian writer, blogger, and poet who is passionate about documenting women’s stories. Her works have appeared in The Hellebore Press, Serotonin Poetry, Illino media, Down River Road, Blue Marble Review, Kalahari Review, X-ray Lit Mag, Native Skin and elsewhere. She is a poetry mentor & Alumna at SprinNG, an NF2W scholar in poetry, and a fiction contributing editor for Barren magazine. Roseline won the audience favourite award for the Union Bank Campus Writing Challenge – Okada books. She is the third prize winner for the PIN food poetry contest. You can reach her on her blog: www.mgbodichi.com
“The Children of No 39 Faulks Street” by Innocent Chizaram Ilo
Innocent Chizaram Ilo is Igbo. They are the winner of the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize (African Region) and the 2021 Nommo Award for Best African Speculative Short Story. They are also a finalist of the Gerald Kraak, Short Story Africa, Ignyte, and Author of Tomorrow prizes. Their works have appeared in Isele, Lolwe, Granta, Catapult, BBC Culture, The Guardian UK, Strange Horizons, Fireside, F&SF Magazine, and elsewhere. They live in Lagos and write to make sense of the world around them.
“The Only One I Have Not Lost” by Dennis Mugaa
Dennis Mugaa is a writer from Meru, Kenya. He was longlisted for the Afritondo Short Story Prize and was a finalist for the Black Warrior Review Fiction Contest. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Jalada, Lolwe, Isele and Washington Square Review. He is currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia where he is a Miles Morland Scholar.
Announcing the Longlist
We are delighted to announce the longlist for the inaugural edition of The Isele Short Story Prize.
Narrowing down the short stories was challenging because the works that we publish at Isele Magazine are brilliant, defiant, and poignantly explore themes that challenge conventional expectations. Publishing them was such a joy. These exceptional writers remind us of the transformative power of stories and the beauty of language.
The works that appear in this longlist encapsulate our mission: to provide a platform for writers who hold a mirror to our society.
On that note, see the longlist in no particular order:
“The Year of the Sun” by Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo
“Today She Will” by Saratu Abiola
“Right” by Rilla Askew
“Sunset Dreams” by Troy Onyango
“Witch Hazel” by Gabriela Denise Frank
“Souvenir” by Roseline Mgbodichinma
“The Newlyweds Window” by Husnah Mad-hy
“The Children of No 39 Faulks Street” by Innocent Chizaram Ilo
“The Only One I Have Not Lost” by Dennis Mugaa
“Deliverance” by Jadesola Ajao
About the Prize
The prize is for a short story (including flash fiction) published in Isele Magazine in the past year.
The judges will publish the longlist of ten stories in February, and a shortlist of five or six stories in March. The winner will be announced at an award ceremony at the end of April.
Updates
We will occasionally update this page with the most recent news about the prize, including the longlist, the shortlist, the winner, the interviews with our writers, and details about the award ceremony.
Isele Magazine 