Nigerian poets Chinụalụmọgụ Ezenwa-Ọhaeto and IS Jones are among the finalists for the 2026 Balcones Prize in Poetry. Ezenwa-Ọhaeto’s debut collection, The Naming, is a finalist alongside works by CD Eskilson, Taylor Byas, Brian Gyamfi, DM Aderibigbe and Isabella DeSendi. Ezenwa-Ọhaeto, a PhD candidate in English at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, published The Naming with the University of Nebraska Press in 2025. The collection explores ancestry, migration, memory and Igbo heritage.

IS Jones is a Nigerian poet and writer whose work engages questions of identity, memory, place and contemporary life. Their poetry has appeared in literary publications and anthologies, and they have received recognition through literary honours and fellowships. Jones’s finalist selection, alongside Ezenwa-Ọhaeto’s, gives Nigeria two places among the six finalists for this year’s poetry prize.

The Balcones Prize, presented by the Austin Public Library, recognises outstanding books by authors connected to Texas across several literary categories, including poetry. The poetry prize honours a full-length collection and is among the awards presented as part of the annual Balcones Literary Prizes. CD Eskilson’s Scream Queen was named the 2026 winner, with Ezenwa-Ọhaeto, Jones and the other finalists receiving finalist recognition.

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