Noma Award for Publishing in Africa

An annual award presented to outstanding books published in Africa (1980–2009).

LiteratureChildren's booksScholarly books

Established: 1979
Organizer: Kodansha Ltd (sponsor), African Book Publishing Record (operator), UNESCO (patronage)
Category: Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Selection Method: Open call
Target: Open
Frequency: 1 per year
Status: Ended

Description

The Noma Award for Publishing in Africa was established in 1979 by Shoichi Noma and awarded annually from 1980 to 2009 to new books (literature, children's books, scholarly books) published in Africa. The prize money was 10,000 USD. Sponsored by Kodansha Ltd, operated by African Book Publishing Record, and conducted under the patronage of UNESCO. The award ended in 2009 due to the termination of sponsorship by the Noma family. Eligible works included books published in any language in Africa (local or European languages).

Prize

Main Prize: Annual prize money of 10,000 USD (awarded to the winner)
Cash Prize: 10,000 USD

Honourable Mention in some years
Recognition and promotion through winning (exposure for publisher/work)
Operational support for the award based on Kodansha's sponsorship

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Eligibility Check	Verification of bibliographic information, publication place, and publication year by African Book Publishing Record (operating secretariat)	—	Confirmation of bibliographic conditions (new publication in Africa, etc.)
Preliminary Selection and Shortlist Creation	Selection of candidate works by judges (editors, scholars, publishing professionals)	—	Internal shortlist creation
Final Judging and Deliberation	Deliberation and final selection by the judging panel	—	Judging committee's decision
Announcement of Winner	Organizer / Operating Secretariat	—	Announced through official website and media (announcement method varies by year)

Eligibility Check

Judges Verification of bibliographic information, publication place, and publication year by African Book Publishing Record (operating secretariat)

Announcement Confirmation of bibliographic conditions (new publication in Africa, etc.)

Preliminary Selection and Shortlist Creation

Judges Selection of candidate works by judges (editors, scholars, publishing professionals)

Announcement Internal shortlist creation

Final Judging and Deliberation

Judges Deliberation and final selection by the judging panel

Announcement Judging committee's decision

Announcement of Winner

Judges Organizer / Operating Secretariat

Announcement Announced through official website and media (announcement method varies by year)

Criteria

Literary and academic quality (expressive power, rigor of research)
Contribution to African culture and scholarship
Originality
Editing and production quality
Importance and influence in the target region and language

Application Tips

Dos

Confirm that the book is a new publication published in Africa (specify publisher and publication year)
Confirm it fits the target categories (literature, children's books, scholarly books)
Organize bibliographic information such as publisher details, ISBN, table of contents, cover image
Prepare a summary explaining the work's academic/cultural significance and regional contribution

Don''ts

Do not provide false publication or publisher information
Do not resubmit only past publications (new publications only)
Do not ignore submission format or specified requirements

From Judges

Emphasis on the work's literary/academic quality and contribution to Africa
Publications in local languages and diversity are also evaluated
Editing and production quality (proofreading, design, etc.) is also a selection factor