The Baobab Prize

The Baobab Prize is an annual international literary award established to encourage the writing of African Literature for young children. Its mission is to identify the African literary giants of the next generation and produce classic African stories that will be appreciated for years to come. The competition is opened to African citizens of all ages. Entries should be in English and should not have been previously published in part or in full and it should be between 1,000 and 5,000 words.

The prizes fall into three categories:

1. the best story written for readers aged 8-11 years
2. the best story written for readers aged 12-15 years
3. Rising star prize (given to a writer below 18 years of age)

The award was instituted in 2008 and has therefore had only one set of previous winners. These are:

• The Baobab Prize for a work of fiction aimed at readers aged 8-11 years: Lorato and her Wire Car by Lauri Kubutsile, Botswana;
• The Baobab Prize for a work of fiction aimed at readers aged 12-15 years: Mr. Goop by Ivor W. Hartman, Zimbabwe; and 
• The Baobab Prize Rising Star write: Strange Visitors that took her life away by Aisha Kibwana, Kenya.

The Baobab Prize for 2009 was launched on July 31 2009 and the deadline for submission is April 15, 2010.

Note: This informatory link was made available to me by another blogger MightyAfrican.