Sudanese-American journalist Isma’il Kushkush received the Walid El-Gabry Memorial Award at the 2026 Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA) Awards on 22 October 2026 in New York, US, for his acclaimed work, ‘Sudan: Dangerously Underreported’.
“Sudan: Dangerously Underreported” is a submission of three works, including ‘Leaving Khartoum‘ published in The New York Review of Books on 30 December 2025; ‘Sudan’s Journalists Risk Everything to Cover a War the World Ignores‘ published in Nieman Reports on 13 February 2026 and ‘How Bloodstains Photographed from Space Brought Attention to a Forgotten War‘ published in Columbia Journalism Review on 14 April 2026.
The Walid El-Gabry Memorial Award honours AMEJA co-founder Walid El-Gabry and recognising a standout AMEJA member whose journalism reflects the mission, principles, and values of the organisation. As part of the award, Kushkush received $1,000.
The AMEJA Awards recognise journalism distinguished by rigour, originality, craft, and a commitment to bringing greater accuracy, nuance, and humanity to stories affecting our communities. The AMEJA Awards offer recognition, solidarity, and a financial boost for journalists. The awards are open to journalists of all backgrounds and locations. Entrants do not need to be from or based in the Middle East or North Africa, be of MENA or Southwest Asian heritage, or work for a regional publication. Both AMEJA members and non-members may enter, except where category-specific eligibility requirements apply. At a time of extraordinary pressure on journalists and newsrooms, the AMEJA Awards celebrate work that informs the public, challenges incomplete narratives, and reflects the highest standards of the profession.
Kushkush is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, CNN, the Associated Press, Reuters, Guernica, Voice of America and Al Jazeera English. He has reported on political, economic, social and cultural affairs across Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Burundi, Sweden, Israel, Palestine, as well as the US.
Kushkush recently also received an award at the National Association of Black Journalists’ (NABJ) 2026 Salute to Excellence Awards, recognising outstanding work by Black journalists across the US, on 15 August 2026. He received the award in the Magazine Under 1 Million – International category for “Leaving Khartoum“. The piece examines the experience of leaving Sudan’s capital amid the devastating war that began in April 2023.
For more information, visit www.ameja.org/awards/2026.
