Nommo Awards
The Nommo Awards are literary awards presented by The African Speculative Fiction Society.
The awards recognize works of speculative fiction by Africans, defined as "science fiction, fantasy, stories of magic and traditional belief, alternative histories, horror and strange stuff that might not fit in anywhere else."
The Nommo Awards have four categories: Best Novel, Novella, Short Story, and Graphic Novel. They are named after the Nommo, ancestral spirits from Dogon cosmology who take a variety of forms, including appearing on land as fish, walking on their tails.
The African Speculative Fiction Society
The African Speculative Fiction Society promotes science fiction and fantasy by Africans. Its members include writers, editors, artists and publishers. Established August 15, 2016 with 58 charter members, the ASFS and its Nommo Awards is a body for African science fiction/fantasy professionals.Members nominate and vote on the Nommo Awards for African Speculative Fiction.
“The ASFS will provide a place where writers, readers, and scholars can come together to find information, connect with each other, and act as watchdogs for their collective interests.” Chinelo Onwualu, co-founder of Omenana
The 2016 charter members
The African Speculative Fiction Society 58 original charter members of 2016.Logo design
The Nommo Awards logo and ASFS logos were designed in 2016 by Stephen Embleton. The logo is an image of the Nommo in Dogon cosmology, twins who on land can take the form of fish walking on their tails."The Nommo are mythological ancestral spirits worshipped by the Dogon people of Mali. The word Nommos is derived from a Dogon word meaning "to make one drink." The Nommos are usually described as amphibious, hermaphroditic, fish-like creatures. Folk art depictions of the Nommos show creatures with humanoid upper torsos, legs/feet, and a fish-like lower torso and tail. The Nommos are also referred to as “Masters of the Water”, “the Monitors”, and "the Teachers”. Nommo can be a proper name of an individual, or can refer to the group of spirits as a whole. For purposes of this article “Nommo” refers to a specific individual and “Nommos” is used to reference the group of beings."
Winners and short list nominees
Novel
The Novel Award is also known as The Ilube Nommo Award for Best Speculative Fiction Novel by an African. It is named for and sponsored by Tom Ilube.| Year | Author | Novel | Publisher | Ref. |
| Tade Thompson* | Rosewater | Orbit | ||
| A. Igoni Barrett | Blackass | Graywolf Press | ||
| Shadreck Chikoti | Azotus, The Kingdom | Pan African Publishers | ||
| Nikhil Singh | Taty Went West | Rosarium Publishing | ||
| Nick Wood | Azanian Bridges | NewCon Press | ||
| Tochi Onyebuchi* | Beasts Made of Night | Penguin Young Readers Group | ||
| Gavin Chait | Our Memory Like Dust | Doubleday | ||
| Deon Meyer | Fever | Grove/Atlantic, Inc. | ||
| Nnedi Okorafor | Akata Warrior | Penguin Young Readers Group | ||
| Deji Bryce Olokotun | After the Flare | The Unnamed Press | ||
| Masha du Toit | The Real | CreateSpace Publishing | ||
| Akwaeke Emezi* | Freshwater | Grove Press | ||
| Tomi Adeyemi | Children of Blood and Bone | Henry Holt and Co | ||
| Nechama Brodie | Knucklebone | Pan Macmillan | ||
| Imraan Coovadia | A Spy in Time | Rare Bird Books | ||
| Cat Hellisen | Empty Monsters | Amazon | ||
| Masha du Toit | The Strange | Independently Published | ||
| Suyi Davies Okungbowa* | David Mogo, Godhunter | Abaddon | ||
| Nerine Dorman | Sing Down the Stars | Tafelberg | ||
| Masande Ntshanga | Triangulum | Penguin Random House South Africa & Two Dollar Radio | ||
| Tochi Onyebuchi | War Girls | Razorbill | ||
| Namwali Serpell | The Old Drift | Hogarth | ||
| Tade Thompson | The Rosewater Insurrection | Orbit | ||
| Akwaeke Emezi* | The Death of Vivek Oji | Riverhead | ||
| Stephen Embleton | Soul Searching | Guardbridge | ||
| Nikhil Singh | Club Ded | Luna | ||
| T.L. Huchu* | The Library of the Dead | Tor | ||
| T. J. Benson | The Madhouse | Penguin South Africa | ||
| Namina Forna | The Gilded Ones | Delacorte/Usborne | ||
| Suyi Davies Okungbowa | Son of the Storm | Orbit US/Orbit UK | ||
| Cheryl S. Ntumy | They Made Us Blood and Fury | Self Published | ||
| Tade Thompson | Far from the Light of Heaven | Orbit US/Orbit UK | ||
| Wole Talabi* | Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon | DAW | ||
| Stephen Embleton | Bones and Runes | Abibiman Publishing | ||
| Chikodili Emelumadu | Dazzling | Wildfire | ||
| Suyi Davies Okungbowa | Warrior of the Wind | Orbit | ||
| Ukamaka Olisakwe | Don't Answer When They Call Your Name | Griots Lounge | ||
| Eloghosa Osunde | Vagabonds! | Riverhead | ||
| Tlotlo Tsamaase* | Womb City | Kensington | ||
| Erhu Kome | The Smoke That Thunders | Norton Young Readers | ||
| Nikhil Singh | Dakini Atoll | Luna Press Publishing | ||
| Umar Abubakar Sidi | The Incredible Dreams of Garba Dakaskus | Masobe |