Nigerian writer and art critic, Akinwande Jordan, has been shortlisted for the 2026 Caine Prize for African Writing for his short story, ‘So Long Now It’s Starting To Look Like Eternity’, published in February 2026 in the anthology A House That’s Not A Home.
The Caine Prize feat makes Jordan the only Nigerian on the shortlist, as the other four shortlisted writers were from Kenya, Cameroon, Egypt, and Zimbabwe.
‘So Long Now It’s Starting To Look Like Eternity’ follows the failing marriage of two University of Lagos mathematics and literature professors and the communication and emotional undertones that complicate their lives.
The story was one of the ten short stories featured in the A House That’s Not A Home anthology, published by Naira Books, an imprint of Nigerian-based publishing firm, Naira Publisher.
Reacting to his shortlisted story on Thursday, Jordan said that the news feels palpably surreal, and that he is honoured beyond what words could qualify.
‘I feel validated, humbled, and extremely elated. I do not regard this as the apogee of my literary career, but it affirms that my attempts to learn from writers I admire have not been futile,’ he said.
The writer revealed that his shortlisted story, ‘So Long Now It’s Starting To Look Like Eternity’, was inspired by Jonathan Franzen’s ‘The Corrections’, adding, ‘Though it is a very hyper-American novel, I found something compelling in its treatment of family and intellect.’
He said the story was also inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Scenes from a Marriage’, particularly its conversations and emotional inscrutability.
On the significance of the story, he said, ‘I’ll leave the significance to readers. For me, it is an ode to, or portrait of, a Nigerian marriage and a critique of academic language and its inadequacies. Sometimes, words fail us; language is insufficient; and vulnerability may be preferable to intellectual abstraction.’
According to the organisers of the £10,000-worth Caine Prize, the five shortlisted stories were carefully selected from a pool of 407 entries originating from 27 African countries, representing a significant increase from the 2024 edition.
Chair of Judges for the 2026 Caine Prize and journalist, Bola Mosuro, stated that the five shortlisted stories were selected from a wealth of talent from across the continent.
‘Hundreds of authors took us on a roller coaster ride of emotions and through varied literary landscapes. It’s been a joy and privilege choosing the Caine Prize shortlist for 2026,’ Mosuro said
Chair of the Caine Prize Board of Trustees, Ellah Wakatama OBE, commended the commitment of the publishers for producing the five short stories from across Africa, adding that this year’s publishers highlighted the growing diversity of Africa’s publishing landscape.
‘Collectively, there is a shared understanding and devotion to the importance of ensuring literature is accessible and read. In the coming weeks, we look forward to continuing the incredible work already started by the writers, editors, and publishers by spotlighting this year’s shortlist and bringing them to an even larger and eager audience,’ Wakatama said.
Editors of the anthology A House That’s Not A Home, Haliru Ali Musa and Kingsley Alumona, according to their statements on the Caine Prize official website, said that, right from the first paragraph of Jordan’s story, what struck them was the uniqueness of the language that reads like poetry and its pace that is consistent, leading to an unfamiliar territory.
‘The theme of the story, poetically captured well in its title, is a complex one that many married couples face in contemporary society. We like the way the author managed the plot and ended the story, leaving us wondering what could have come next,’ the editors’ statement reads.
Award-winning writer and critic Haliru Musa opined that Jordan’s Caine Prize shortlist confirms what most writers already suspected: that Nigerian short fiction can hold its own without performing its Nigerianness for outsiders.
Alumona noted that the anthology was the first book published by the company, which means that their investments in Nigerian writers and the literary space already have far-reaching impacts.
The other 2026 shortlisted writers of the prize are Gladwell Pamba (Kenya) for ‘The Last Shop’, published by Jahazi Press (August 2024); Melara Mvogdobo (Cameroon) for ‘Dieu Merci!’ published in Literatur.Review (August, 2025); Yasmine Zohdi (Egypt) for ‘The Absence of Stains’ published in The Republic (August 2025); and Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza (Zimbabwe) for ‘The Blue Fighter’ published in The Shallow Tales Review (June 2024).
The organisers of the prize stated that the winner of this year’s edition of the prize will be announced at a ceremony in London, United Kingdom, in October and will subsequently be celebrated and presented with the prize in their country of origin.
‘All the shortlisted stories will be published in the annual anthology alongside stories written at the Caine Prize Workshop, held this year in Tanzania,’ the organisers added.
Akinwande Jordan is a Nigerian writer and critic interested in literature, film, and the everyday textures of contemporary life. He writes with a focus on close reading, ideas, and how storytelling responds to social reality. His work has appeared in Naira Stories Magazine, The49thStreet, What Kept Me Up, Poetry Column, and Screen in Transit. He is particularly drawn to questions of form, time, and artistic responsibility, bringing a thoughtful, idea-driven approach to both literary and film criticism.