Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards announce longlist

Local literary stars are due some celebration as the Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards return for their third iteration later this year.

The bi-annual awards ceremony honours Namibian writers, poets and visual artists who have been published in Doek! Literary Magazine, an online curation of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and visual art from Namibia, Africa and the African diaspora.

The Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards (BWDLA) winners will be selected by an independent panel of judges, namely Ndawedwa Denga Hanghuwo, Samuel Mayinoti, Sylvia Schlettwein and Michelle van Wyk.

Longlisted candidates have been featured in Doek! between December 2023 and July 2025. Each winning literary artist is awarded N$5 000 in cash sponsored by Bank Windhoek. The winners are also presented with a unique trophy commissioned from a Namibian artist.

This year’s longlist includes Hugh Ellis, Katherine Hunter, Tjimamutja Pehape Katjiongua, Jason Kooper and Jeremy Tiboth writing in the category of fiction. Nonfiction nominees are Filemon Iiyambo and Perivi Katjavivi.

Longlisted poets are Jedidja Kakuva, Vekondjisa Nosipho Katusuva, Ethel Mwalifa, Scholastika Namutenya Negongo, Johannes Shikongo and Tjizembua Tjikuzu. In the category of visual art, Martin Amushendje, Luigi Arnat, Natache Sylvia Ilonga and Omen Keisho are nominated for the award.

“In 2025, these awards come at a challenging time for arts practitioners in the country and around the world.

The social, political and economic mandates of arts and cultural programmes which champion free speech, self-expression and much-needed intercultural dialogue between people in their communities are being curtailed whether they are prestigious international organisations or small, local projects undertaken by passionate creative workers,” says Doek Arts Trust founder and Doek! Literary Magazine editor-in-chief Rémy Ngamije.

“Numerous institutions which provide access to precious artistic and cultural materials such as libraries, galleries, museums, theatres and performance venues are navigating crippling budget cuts; literary outlets have closed or are on indefinite hiatuses; and worldwide arts practitioners are facing great uncertainty about their means of production as well as the benefits derived from their creative produce,” Ngamije says.

“Though the arts have always been marginalised in many places and in many ways, the current global milieu is more dire than ever before.”

Ngamije says it is in this context that BWDLAs arrive, supported by Bank Windhoek, a perennial champion of the arts in Namibia.

“The BWDLAs have helped to launch writing careers, providing opportunities to hone criticism and adjudication, and stoke debate and dialogue about resonant writing and visual art that have been published in Doek!,” Ngamije says.

“The awards have become an important part of the national literary calendar, helping to attract writing from all corners of the country, representing judges from the local writing community, and fostering collaboration with artists working in other artistic disciplines,” Ngamije says.

“The third edition of these awards showcases Bank Windhoek’s commitment to the Namibian creative economy – to dreamers and doers, to eager amateurs and skilled savants and to storytellers and those who love stories.

This level of institutional support is not to be taken for granted in these uncertain times.”

Alongside the BWDLA longlist, Ngamije also reveals this year’s concept and logo. Designed by artist Alexandra Dunaiski, the 2025 concept is ‘the sun and its light’.

Commissioned trophy designer and sculptor Saima Iita will build on this concept to create six BWDLA trophies.

“I wanted to create something colourful with bold and striking colours that reflect the strong presence of light in Namibia. Integrating the idea of an open book was, of course, necessary because the Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards are centred on reading and writing,” says Dunaiski.

“But the open book also suggests something more: sharing knowledge with a community and, in some way, improving it or enlightening it.

The sun represents Doek’s motto and the wisdom which makes great storytelling possible: ‘hope and optimism in spite of present difficulties’,” Dunaiski says.

“Always, we are told by the best writers and stories, that no darkness lasts forever, that the light and lighter, kinder, peaceful days are on the way.”

For more information on the Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards and to view the longlisted literary works visit https://doeklitmag.com/awards/ .
– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter and Instagram; marthamukaiwa.com

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