Republic Cassava wins Canex Prize 2024

Cassava Republic Press has won the inaugural 2024 Canex Africa Publishing Award for its cover design for Pumla Dineo Gkola’s The Women’s Fear Factory: Uncovering the Patriarchal Culture of Violence.

Dr. Wale Okediran, chairman of the jury, said the book’s solid cover design, elegant layout and easy-to-read text, coupled with creative gender strategies, make the book a compelling contribution to feminist literature.

The book is an exploration of how patriarchal society encourages violence against women. The book also provides a sobering portrait of patriarchal violence in the world and a hopeful perspective on the work of feminists around the world, Okediran added.

Cassava Republic Press was announced as the winner on October 19 during the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) 2024 weekend held in Algiers, Algeria from October 16 to 19.

Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie and Narrative Landscape Press, in partnership with CANEX and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), launched the prize at the third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) on November 9, 2023 in Cairo, Egypt. .

Judges Ashraf Abul-Yazid, Edwige Droz and Okediran assessed 85 books submitted by various African publishers. Although most materials were presented in English, some titles were in French and Portuguese.

Submissions to the competition were judged on the quality of writing, editing and production, with priority given to books printed and released on the African continent in the previous two years, Okediran said.

The prize is awarded to the publisher of the best African fiction or non-fiction publication.

The annual prize is open to writers from across the African continent.

According to Cassava Republic Press, “The Female Fear Factory: Uncovering the Patriarchal Culture of Violence,” published in 2022, explores how fear is weaponized to control women and those socialized as women, as well as a hopeful vision for the future.

Drawing on examples from around the world – from Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa to Saudi Arabia, America and Europe, Gqola traces the construction and machinations of the female fear factory, exposing its lies, myths and temptations.

She shows how seemingly disparate effects such as driving bans, street harassment, and professorial coercion are the product of the ever-revolving machinery of the female fear factory and its use of fear as a tool of patriarchal subjugation and punishment.

The Female Fear Factory: Unraveling the Patriarchal Culture of Violence is a sobering account of patriarchal violence in the world and a hopeful vision of the work of unapologetic feminist creative strategies around the world.

Cassava Republic Press won the award over four shortlisted books. The remaining four finalists received $2,000 each.

Judges Ashraf Abul-Yazid, Edwige Droz and Okediran assessed 85 books submitted by various African publishers. Although most materials were presented in English, some titles were in French and Portuguese.

Submissions to the competition were judged on the quality of writing, editing and production, with priority given to books printed and released on the African continent in the previous two years, Okediran said.

He added that publishers were allowed to submit one professional book for the award. In a publishing sense, trade books mean books published for a general audience and widely available in libraries and bookstores.

These include books published in the genres of fiction, non-fiction or poetry, and can be in hardcover or paperback. This does not include textbooks or scientific books.