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I had always known that the announcement of the Caine Prize for African Writing would fall on my birthday. However, in joyful and thoughtful moods that birthdays always bestow upon its adult celebrants, I entirely forgot to follow the announcement on twitter. Thanks, however, to the internet I have been able to retrieve the announcement of the winner. Press Release Zimbabwe’s NoViolet Bulawayo has won the 2011 Caine Prize for African Writing, described as Africa’s leading literary award, for her short story entitled ‘Hitting Budapest’, from The Boston Review, Vol 35, no. 6 – Nov/Dec 2010. The Chair of Judges, award-winning author Hisham Matar, announced NoViolet Bulawayo as the winner of the £10,000 prize at a dinner held this evening (Monday 11 July) at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Hisham Matar said: The language of ‘Hitting Budapest’ crackles. Here we encounter Darling, Bastard, Chipo, Godknows, Stina and Sbho, a gang reminiscent of Clockwork Orange. But these ...

Monday July 8, 2013:  The Caine Prize for African Writing announced the winner of its announced Nigerian Tope Folarin as the winner of the 14th Caine Prize for African Writing with his story Miracle  published in Transition, Issue 109 (Bloomington, 2012). The Chair of Judges, Gus Casely-Hayford, announced Tope Folarin as the winner of the £10,000 prize at a dinner held this evening (Monday, 8 July) at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Miracle  is a story set in Texas in an evangelical Nigerian church where the congregation has gathered to witness the healing powers of a blind pastor-prophet. Religion and the gullibility of those caught in the deceit that sometimes comes with faith rise to the surface as a young boy volunteers to be healed and begins to believe in miracles. Gus Casely-Hayford praised the story, saying:  Tope Folarin's ‘Miracle’ is another superb  Caine Prize winner – a delightful and beautifully paced narrative, that is exquis...

Olufemi Terry's  Stickfighting Days won the 11th Caine Prize for African Writing Award in 2010. It was later included in the anthology A Life in Full  anthology published in 2010. This story first appeared in Chimurenga vol. 12/13. The focus of the Caine Prize is ' on the short story, as reflecting the contemporary development of African story-telling tradition.' Here, one wonders if the 'African story-telling tradition' part deals with what publishers refer to as 'The African Story'. If so, the Caine Prize has succeeded. If the 'development' is also necessary, then it has failed totally; for now, the prize is almost seen as the ultimate search for the story that that can make readers puke and wonder if the characters are savages or humans. Consequently, writers summon all their creative power to write the most scatological stories that would define what an African story is. Whereas some writers search for the most rotten neighbourhoods in any...

Exactly a week ago, the Caine Prize announced its 2014 shortlist. This year's shortlist was announced by the Nobel Prize winner and Patron of the Caine Prize Wole Soyinka, as part of the opening ceremonies for the UNESCO World Book Capital 2014 celebration in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The Shortlist comprises: Diane Awerbuck (South Africa) " Phosphorescence " in Cabin Fever ( Umuzi , Cape Town. 2011) Efemia Chela (Ghana/Zambia) " Chicken " in Feast, Famine and Potluck ( Short Story Day Africa , South Africa. 2013) Tendai Huchu (Zimbabwe) " The Intervention " in Open Road Review , issue 7, New Delhi. 2013 Billy Kahora (Kenya) " The Gorilla's Apprentice " in Granta (London. 2010) Okwiri Oduor (Kenya) " My Father's Head " in Feast, Famine and Potluck ( Short Story Day Africa , South Africa. 2013) Tendai Huchu is the author of The Hairdresser of Harare .  Billy Kahora's Urban Zoning  was nominated in 2012 Ca...

On April 26, 2010, the shortlist for the 2010 Caine Prize for African Writing was announced. The Caine Prize, widely known as the ‘African Booker’ and regarded as Africa’s leading literary award, is now in its eleventh year Chair Judge The Chair Judge for this year's award, The Economist literary editor Fiammetta Rocco, said: "Africa has much to be proud of in these five writers. Not only are their stories all confident, ambitious and skillfully written, each one boasts an added dimension – a voice, character or particular emotional connection – that makes it uniquely powerful." Joining Fiammetta on the judging panel this year are Granta deputy editor Ellah Allfrey, Professor Jon Cook of the University of East Anglia, and Georgetown University professor Samantha Pinto. Entries Selected from 115 entries from 13 African countries, the shortlist is once again a reflection of the Caine Prize’s pan-African reach.  Award The winner of the £10,000 prize is to be...

Ken Barris's The Life of Worm was shortlisted for the 11th Caine Prize for African Writing, 2010 . The story was first published in New Writings from Africa Anthology published by Johnson and King James Book, Cape Town. This story, like all the shortlisted stories, are part of the A Life in Full Anthology published in 2010. The Life of a Worm is a story about a man and his dog, Worm. The man lives behind a series of metal doors, motion sensors and several electronic security protection. He is also protected by Worm, a ferocious dog he struggles to handle on their daily outings. When people approach them, praising the dog, the man becomes scared, afraid that the dog would tear off intruder's face. From his internal conversation, we see that the man is unable to control his dog. He is also afraid of something: armed-burglars? He is needs this protection and this makes him unable to sleep properly, always checking on his security detail. With alarms going off randomly, h...

This year's Caine Prize for African Writing shortilst, released on May 15, was dominated by Nigerians. This emphaises Nigeria's long-held and enviable position as the powerhouse of quality and prodigious Literature on the continent; perhaps only South Africa can 'compete'. Four of the five stories that made up this year's shortlist were by Nigerians. The fifth story is by a Sierra Leonean. Nigeria has produced such great writers as the Nobel Laureate, Akinwande Oluwole (Wole) Soyinka ; the Man Booker International Prize Winner, Chinua Achebe ; Elechi Amadi; John Pepper Clark; Ola Rotimi ; and others. One can also mention many of the new generation of writers such as Chuma Nwokolo ; the Booker Prize Winner, Ben Okri ; the Orange Prize Winner, Chimamanda Adichie ; and others. We can talk of Nigerian writers forever. According to the Chair of Judges, Gus Casely-Hayford, The Shortlist was selected from 96 entries from 16 African countries. They are all outstanding ...

I know this has been long in coming... The shortlist for the 2011 Caine Prize for African Writing was been announced on Monday 9 May. The Caine Prize, widely known as the ‘African Booker’ and regarded as Africa’s leading literary award, is now in its twelfth year. The chair of judges, the award-winning Libyan novelist Hisham Matar, said  choosing a shortlist out of nearly 130 entries was not an easy task – one made more difficult and yet more enjoyable by the varied tastes of the judges – but we have arrived at a list of five stories that excel in quality and ambition. Together they represent a portrait of today’s African short story: its wit and intelligence, its concerns and preoccupations.  Selected from 126 entries from 17 African countries, the shortlist is once again a reflection of the Caine  Prize’s pan-African reach.  The winner of the £10,000 prize is to be announced at a celebratory dinner at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, on M...

So I must say that this one went by without my notice and had it not been  The Bookaholic Blog I would not have heard it and talked about it. Thanks Bookaholic. I first blogged about the Prize here... Sierra Leone's Olufemi Terry has won the 2010 Caine Prize for African Writing for ' Stickfighting Days ' from Chimurenga vol 12/13. This Prize has been described as Africa's leading literary award. The Chair of Judges, The Economist's Literary Editor Fiammetta Rocco, announced Olufemi as the winner of the 10,000 pound prize at a dinner held on Monday July 5 at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.  Fimmetta Rocco said "ambitious, brave and hugely imaginative, Olufemi Terry's 'Stickfighting Days' presents a heroid culture that is Homeric in its scale and conception. The execution of this story is so tight and the presentation so cinematic, it confirms Olufemi Terry as a talent with an enormous future" Olufemi was born in Sierra Leon of Af...

David Medalie's story, The Mistress's Dog , should have been read last year as part of the Caine Prize Shortlist 2009 to 2011 Reading Challenge. I carried it with me but never came around to reading it, perhaps preferring to read the books rather than the single stories or perhaps discouraged by seeming bad taste that I found most of the Caine Prize Shortlist. If any of these was the reason why I failed to complete that challenge last year, then I should have persevered since this is a quite different and hilarious story. The Mistress's Dog  was shortlisted for the 12th Caine Prize for African Writing in 2011 and was included in the Caine Prize for African Writing anthology To See the Mountain and other stories  (2011). However, it was first published in The Mistress's Dog and other stories (1996 - 2010) . The dog had outlived its owner, The Mistress, and was now in the care of Nola. In fact, it had outlived the two individuals who made Nola's life silent...

This is the first time I overachieved my reading targets. I set out to read four books, or five time permitting, but ended up reading seven books and four single stories (for the Caine Prize Shortlist Reading ).  Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe. This book tells of the rift that came among a group of three friends as one became the head of state. It shows how the quest of power could wreck a lifelong relationship.  Eno's Story  by Ayodele Olofintuade. This is a children's story about witch-labelling and tagging. The language is simple but the subject is complex. We get to know how people in seeming authority and elders could all be wrong and wreck lives because of misunderstanding. And folly. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. A story that traces the complexity of relationships between the rich and the poor over the course of a country's history. A story that would affect you in more than one way. The River Between by Ngugi wa Thiong'o. A story abo...

Waiting (2008) is the winning  story on the 10th Caine Prize for African Writing, 2009. This story was published at Guernica . Written in the first person, Orlando Zaki writes about his life in a refugee camp. Orlando is amongst a group of young people in a refugee camp. According to him, most of the people at this camp got their names from the inscriptions on the shirts they receive from the Red Cross Orlando  is taken from Orlando, Florida, which is what is written on the t-shirt  given to me by the Red Cross. Zaki  is the name of the town where I was found and from which I was brought to this refugee camp. My friends in the camp are known by the inscriptions on their t-shirts. In general, life at the camp is lived according to the theory of 'only the fittest survive'. There is struggle for water and food, that is when they become available. For the most part they live in wait of these basic facilities and also in expectation of being adopted and sent to...

About the Prize   Commonwealth Writers has re-focused its prizes to concentrate only on the Short Story. It will no longer offer the Commonwealth Book Prize. The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is part of  Commonwealth Writers  the cultural initiative from the Commonwealth Foundation . Commonwealth Writers develops the craft of individual writers and builds communities of emerging voices which can influence the decision-making processes affecting their lives. The Prize aims to identify talented writers who will go on to inspire their local communities. There will be five winners, one from each region. One regional winner will be selected as the overall winner. The overall winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize will receive £5,000   and the remaining four regional winners £2,500. If the winning short story is a translation into English, the translator will receive additional prize money:  £2,000 for the overall winning story and £1,000 for a reg...

I started Readers' Top Ten as a  continue my Readers' Top Ten to introduce to readers of this blog the rich literature the continent has to offer and to move beyond the 'one-novel' representation of African literature. Submission was sporadic and so I have not been consistent with the posting. However, the session is still on and any who want to share could. Today, the Cameroonian reader and writer Nkiacha Atemnkeng shares his top 10 African books, per his reads*. About Nkiacha: Nkiacha Atemnkeng is a young Cameroonian writer. His work has been published in four literary online journals: Malawi Write , The New Black Magazine , Africa Book Club  and Munyori Literary Journal . He was shortlisted for the 2013 Mardibooks short story competition in London and was a finalist for the month of October 2013 at the Africa book club. His musings and book reviews can be found at writerphilic . A holder of a Curriculum Studies and Biology degree, he works as a Swissport Cust...

Alex Smith's Soulmates was shortlisted for the 11th Caine Prize for African Writing in 2010 . The story appeared in New Writing from Africa  (2009) published by Johnson & King James Book, Cape Town. Mary of the bees and thorns, Mary of the porcupines and nubbly roots, namelijk Maria, genaamd Magdalena, van welke zeven duivelen uitgegaan waren, Maria minus seven devils, Maria after whom I have been named, help me, please ! Outside spiders were spinning webs, bees were waiting, motionless, for day, and porcupines were chewing through the frost and rutty bulbs of the renosterveld. Inside Maria was tearing. The door to the room was closed, but windy wind, tumultous as Maria's loss, violated the locks and cracks and came in with grit and insects, to witness the splitting of the elliptical entrance to Maria's physical soul, and, regardless of the fragile circumstances, boorish wind rampaged about the room with all the rattle of seven devils. Maria was laid out on a bed...

Mukoma Wa Ngugui's How Kamau Wa Mwangi Escaped into Exile  was shortlisted for the 10th Caine Prize award in 2009 . It is the fourth in the list of five shortlist to be reviewed here. The itself was published in Wasafiri Volume 23, No. 2 in June 2008. Kamau is a member of the Second Independence Democracy with Content Forum (SIDCF), a group that has been asking questions of their dictatorial government. He has been arrested and tortured on several occasions and has become immune to the fear exuded by military officials. One evening Kamau was visited by an army officer who presented him with a list of people who should be on the run, in case an impending insurrection fail: 'I ... we do not want to see more people dead. Especially the young people and even though we anticipate more trouble from the likes of you, you professional agitators, this is our country and your needed. Protect yourselves and your friends. We shall deal with each other later. Like men ... eye to e...