Mustapha Enesi

Mustapha Enesi is a Nigerian short story writer who won the 2021 K & L Prize for African Literature for his short story "Kesandu," and the 2021 Awele Creative Trust Award for "Safety Pins Are Good Omens," which was published in Transition Magazine His debut short story collection, I Cry at the Feet of My Other Body ''and Other Stories'', which focuses on the lives of Nigerian women was published by Witsprouts in September 2025.

Background

Enesi holds a background in Agriculture, having studied the course at the University of Ilorin, where he also graduated top of his class.

Literary career

He was a finalist for the 2021 Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize and the 2021 Arthur Flowers Flash Fiction Prize. His works have appeared in Transition Magazine, Litro Magazine, The Republic, Isele Magazine, Peatsmoke Journal, The Maine Review and Love Grows Stronger in Death among others. He was a judge for the Oxford Flash Fiction Prize in 2023.
His debut short story collection was published by Witpsrouts Books in September 2025. The collection is a complex exploration of womanhood, motherhood, grief, and societal pressures, featuring thirteen interconnected stories of Nigerian women striving for self-definition.