CASSAVA Republic Press, founded by Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, has won the prestigious CANEX Prize for Publishing at the 2024 CANEX WKND in Algiers, Algeria. The award was bestowed on the company for its groundbreaking novel, Female Fear Factory, which explores how fear is weaponised to control women’s bodies across the globe.
Written by South African feminist and scholar Pumla Dineo Gqola currently at the Nelson mandela University, Port Elizabeth, SA, unpacks the mechanisms of patriarchal violence, examining how fear is used as a tool for subjugation. Drawing examples from Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and beyond, Gqola illustrates the insidious ways in which women are coerced into fear through everything from street harassment to legal restrictions. The novel challenges readers to confront these deeply ingrained societal constructs while offering a hopeful vision for feminist action.
Gqola was the jury chair of the defunct inuagural Etisalat Prize for Literature in 2024 won by Zimbabwe’s Noviolet Bulawayo’s debut novel, We Need New Names.
Bibi Bakare-Yusuf expressed immense joy in the Cassava Republic team, saying, “Publishing African stories and shining a light on narratives like Female Fear Factory is the Lord’s work. We aim to amplify the voices of African authors and confront global issues like patriarchy that transcend national boundaries.”
Cassava Republic Press, founded in Abuja in 2006, has offices in both Nigeria and London. The publisher Bakare-Yusuf has long been committed to transforming global perceptions of African writing, providing a platform for diverse African experiences in fiction and non-fiction. Bakare-Yusuf’s founding vision is to make African fiction a staple item like cassava, an ubiquitous food found on the tables of most African homes.
The CANEX Prize, sponsored by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with Narrative Landscape Press Limited, celebrates excellence in African publishing. The top prize of $20,000 is awarded to the best trade book published in Africa, with the goal of promoting the African book value chain. Finalists also receive $2,000 each. The 2024 award ceremony took place on October 18, 2024, as part of the CANEX WKND event.
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‘A thriving publishing ecosystem vital for nurturing talent, amplifying our voices, safeguarding stories that matter to us’
ON behalf of the Cassava Republic Press team, I am thrilled to accept the CANEX Prize for Publishing for our book, The Female Fear Factory by Pumla Dineo Gqola. We’re grateful to the committee for recognising the significance of this book, which confronts the ways fear is weaponised to control women’s bodies—an urgent and powerful message, not only for African societies but for the world.
This recognition is more than just a celebration of a single book: it celebrates the dedication, passion and invisible work behind African publishing. By honouring these efforts, the CANEX Prize underscores the need for a strong and supported African publishing ecosystem. For too long, the infrastructures for the production of African stories have been controlled by external forces.
This prize is for all those other brave African publishers—Les Case Des Lucioles, Jacana Media, Masobe, Kachifo, Narrative Landscape, Blackbird Books, New African Books, Modjaji Books and more—who are reclaiming ownership of our narratives and reflecting our diverse experiences.
A thriving publishing ecosystem is vital for nurturing talent, amplifying our voices, and safeguarding the stories that matter to us. African writers need publishers who understand their histories, cultures, and struggles—and African readers deserve books that reflect their realities and imaginings.
With this prize, African publishing no longer needs to wait for external validation: the most meaningful recognition will come from amongst ourselves.
Thank you again for this honour. It fuels our commitment to continue building the infrastructures of imagination that will allow African writing to flourish for generations to come.
–– Bibi Bakare, Publisher Cassava Republic