Afreximbank publishes CANEX anthology to promote emerging African, Caribbean writers

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) on Monday announced the publication of Instances of Exceptional Moments of Hunger, a new anthology of short stories produced through its 2024 CANEX Creative Writing Workshop.

The anthology brings together 19 writers from 16 countries across Africa and the Caribbean. It features stories developed during an intensive workshop under Afreximbank’s Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme and includes works translated from Arabic, French and Portuguese into English.

The collection was published in partnership with Narrative Landscape Press, based in Nairobi and Lagos, according to a statement.

Executive Vice President for Intra-African Trade and Export Development at Afreximbank, Kanayo Awani, said the initiative was aimed at strengthening Africa’s creative industries.

“This anthology represents far more than a compilation of stories—it is a strategic investment in Africa’s creative future,” Awani said.

“Through initiatives such as the CANEX Creative Writing Workshop, Afreximbank is not only nurturing talent but also building a pipeline of globally competitive intellectual property capable of crossing borders and formats,” she said.

The publisher, Eghosa Imasuen of Narrative Landscape Press, said the workshop provided emerging writers with structured development support.

“When we gathered in Aburi, Ghana, in August 2024 for the inaugural CANEX Book Factory Creative Writing Workshop, we had a clear purpose: to give emerging prose writers from the continent and the diaspora a protected space for craft, discipline, and growth,” Imasuen said. “These writers are announcing themselves.”

Afreximbank said the anthology forms part of its wider Creative Africa Nexus programme, which aims to expand Africa’s creative sector as a driver of economic growth, employment and export diversification.

The bank’s investment subsidiary, CANEX Creations Inc., will support the commercialization of the works and explore adaptation opportunities in film, television and other media formats.

Selected works from the anthology have also been submitted for consideration for the Caine Prize for African Writing.

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