Pius Adesanmi Memorial Award Opens Nominations for 2027
The African Studies Association of Africa (ASAA) has opened nominations for the 2027 Pius Adesanmi Memorial Award for Excellence in African Writing, a biennial prize honouring an outstanding single-authored academic book on Africa and/or the global African world. Established in 2019 in memory of Professor Pius Adesanmi, the Nigerian-born, Canada-based scholar whose death that year marked a major loss to the African Studies community, the award recognises books that make significant contributions to African Studies while demonstrating excellence and innovation in African writing. Nominations opened on September 14 and will remain open until December 14, 2026.
The award is open to single-authored books by writers of African descent working within the broad field of African Studies, with eligible works focused on Africa and/or the global African experience. Books may be written in English, French, Portuguese or an African language, provided works not originally in English are translated into English for consideration. For the 2027 award, eligible books must have been published between January 2020 and June 2026. School guides, textbooks and edited volumes are excluded. Publishers and authors may submit no more than one book, and each nomination must include a description of the book’s theoretical, conceptual or methodological significance, alongside one electronic copy and six physical copies for the committee’s review.
The Pius Adesanmi Memorial Award will recognise its 2027 winner with a cash prize, a plaque and lifetime membership of ASAA. Submissions will be considered for their contribution to African Studies, quality of writing, creativity, relevance to African and diasporic experiences, thematic cohesion and originality, alongside considerations of regional, gender, racial, disability and religious representation. The winner will be announced at a special ceremony during the closing banquet of the 7th ASAA Biennial Conference in October 2027. Through the prize, ASAA continues to commemorate Adesanmi’s intellectual legacy while creating space for scholarship that expands how Africa and its global experiences are studied and written.
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