The best five: Kenyan writer Gladwell Pamba makes 2026 Caine Prize shortlist

Gladwell Pamba, author of "The Last Shop", is among the five finalists for the £10,000 ($13,500) 2026 Caine Prize for African Writing.

Photo credit: Pool

Kenyan author Gladwell Pamba is among the writers shortlisted for the 2026 edition of the prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing, with a chance of bagging $13,533 if she emerges the eventual winner in October.

Pamba, a PhD student at Concordia University in Canada, got the honours for her short story “The Last Shop”, which appears in the collection “Let’s Conspire and Other Stories” published by Kenyan-based Jahazi Press.