There are jubilations in literary world following
the news about four Nigerian entries out of five that were shortlisted for the
2013 Caine Prize for African Writing. The stories chosen for the shortlist
include Miracle by Tope Folarin, Elnathan John’s Bayan Layi, Abubakar Adam
Ibrahim’s The Whispering Trees and America by Chinelo Okparanta. The fifth
entry written by Sierra Leonean writer, Pede Hollist was titled Foreign Aid.
The chairman of the panel of judges for this year’s contest, art historian and broadcaster, Gus Casely-Hayford, in a remark posted on the official website of the Caine Prize, said, “The shortlist was selected from 96 entries from 16 African countries. They are all outstanding African stories that were drawn from an extraordinary body of high quality submissions. The five contrasting titles interrogate aspects of things that we might feel we know of Africa – violence, religion, corruption, family, community – but these are subjects that are deconstructed and beautifully remade. These are challenging, arresting, provocative stories of a continent and its descendants captured at a time of burgeoning change.”
The unprecedented number of Nigerians on the shortlist has been hailed as evidence that there is abundance of literary talent in Nigeria and proof that a quiet change is taking place in the country’s literary space.
Helon Habila was the first Nigerian writer to win the Caine Prize. Segun Afolabi, and E.C Osondu. Rotimi Babatunde emerged the winner in 2012.
This year’s winner of the £10,000 prize will be announced at a celebratory dinner at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, on July 8, 2013.
The winner will also enjoy a month’s residence at Georgetown University, as a Writer-in-Residence at the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice. The award will cover all travel and living expenses.
The winner will also be invited to take part in the Open Book Festival in Cape Town in September 2013.
The chairman of the panel of judges for this year’s contest, art historian and broadcaster, Gus Casely-Hayford, in a remark posted on the official website of the Caine Prize, said, “The shortlist was selected from 96 entries from 16 African countries. They are all outstanding African stories that were drawn from an extraordinary body of high quality submissions. The five contrasting titles interrogate aspects of things that we might feel we know of Africa – violence, religion, corruption, family, community – but these are subjects that are deconstructed and beautifully remade. These are challenging, arresting, provocative stories of a continent and its descendants captured at a time of burgeoning change.”
The unprecedented number of Nigerians on the shortlist has been hailed as evidence that there is abundance of literary talent in Nigeria and proof that a quiet change is taking place in the country’s literary space.
Helon Habila was the first Nigerian writer to win the Caine Prize. Segun Afolabi, and E.C Osondu. Rotimi Babatunde emerged the winner in 2012.
This year’s winner of the £10,000 prize will be announced at a celebratory dinner at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, on July 8, 2013.
The winner will also enjoy a month’s residence at Georgetown University, as a Writer-in-Residence at the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice. The award will cover all travel and living expenses.
The winner will also be invited to take part in the Open Book Festival in Cape Town in September 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment