Over the years, individuals like Chinua Achebe, Andre Brink and Wole Soyinka have all—through their outstanding work—ensured that Africa wasn’t exempted from the elite collection of literary geniuses. In recent times, socio-economic issues such as corruption, poverty, inequality, and nepotism have significantly distracted the world from talented individuals documenting the African narrative and her inspiring stories with some literary dexterity.
But the Etisalat Prize for Literature is one of the few programmes keeping the world informed and African literary geniuses motivated. Launched in 2013 by Etisalat Nigeria, the Prize for Literature is a platform to promote creativity and talent development in Africa. It is the first and biggest pan-African literary prize that is open solely to debut fiction writers of African origin.
The Etisalat Prize for Literature is a three-way literary battle on who will win Africa’s most prestigious literature Prize. The shortlisted books are The Story of Anna P, as Told by Herself by South Africa’s Penny Busetto, Tram 83 by Democratic Republic of Congo’s Fiston Mwanza Mujila and What Will People Say? by another South African, Rehana Rossouw.
This year’s Award Ceremony, which holds on the 19th of March 2016 in Lagos Nigeria, will embody the theme Representing the Diversity of African Voices by showcasing the richness of Africa and how our diversity converges into one unique voice of the continent. In keeping writers motivated, the winner of the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature will receive £15,000, an engraved Montblanc Meisterstück pen and a high end device. The winner will also attend the Etisalat Fellowship at the University of East Anglia under the mentorship Giles Foden. The Etisalat Prize for Literature also aims to promote the publishing industry at large and will therefore purchase 1000 copies of all shortlisted books which will be donated to various schools, book clubs and libraries across the African continent.
However, the Etisalat Prize for Literature is not only about debut fiction novels. It also incorporates the Flash Fiction category as a strategic measure to celebrate unpublished writers across the African continent and challenge budding writers to create compelling stories. The literary event will also feature a presentation of shortlisted books to City of Durban Library by Etisalat Prize for Literature followed by a book reading at the the city’s foremost book store with vintage collections, Ike’s Books. The shortlisted writers will also be at the Lagos book reading on Thursday, March 17, the final precursor to the Award Ceremony which will provide Nigerians with a peep into the minds of the three authors.
