Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi Wins The Kwani? Manuscript Project

Monday July 1, 2013: Kwani? has announced Ugandan Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi as the winner of The Kwani? Manuscript Project, a literary prize for unpublished fiction by African writers, for the novel The Kintu Saga. The second place has been awarded to Liberia's Saah Millimono for One Day I will Write about this War and the Kenyan Timothy Kiprop Kimutai was awarded the third positioin for The Water Spirits.

The winner Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi said:

It is hard for me to express my joy because sometimes language can limited - even for a writer. When you have been writing as obsessively and for as long as I have, winning a competition like this one is like stepping out in the sun after protracted period of darkness. 

The winners were selected from a shortlist of seven by a high-profile panel of judges chaired by award-winning Sudanese novelist Jamal Mahjoub and including Deputy Editor of Granta magazine Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, leading scholar of African literature Professor Simon Gikandi, Chairman of Kenyatta University’s Literature Department Dr. Mbugua wa Mungai, editor of Zimbabwe’s Weaver Press Irene Staunton and internationally renowned Nigerian writer Helon Habila. Chair of Judges, Jamal Mahjoub said: 

All three titles chosen by the judges display an urge to engage with the complexities of modern day Africa. They tackle issues such as civil war, the struggle against poverty, and the continent’s historical heritage, among other themes. As a manuscript award this prize naturally seeks to focus less on finding a perfect finished product than work which shows literary promise as well as a breadth and depth of vision. The winner and two runners up all reflect these values. The winner, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi‘s The Kintu Saga, is an ambitious attempt to bring the history of Uganda into the present lives of the novel’s protagonists. Through successive generations, the author sketches out the continued relevance of the past in the present. In 2nd place, Saah Millimono’s One Day I Will Write About This War provides a moving portrait of a young boy in Liberia who finds the hardships of his life relieved by the family of a girl he meets at school. Their lives are turned upside down with the arrival of the civil war. In 3rd place, Timothy Kiprop Kimutai’s The Water Spirits shows great maturity in its depiction of characters and the relationships between a single mother and her two children. The author deftly manages to tread a fine line between the state of the mind and the world of the imagination.

Judge, Ellah Wakatama Allfrey said:

Reading the entries for the Kwani Manuscript Project afforded the greatest of luxuries - a sneak peek at the publishing possibilities of a continent, the novels that will, all good things permitting, find their way to readers in the near future. There were historical novels, domestic-focused dramas, tales of war and of love. Even a steam-punk narrative that especially delighted this reader's heart. The aim had been to prod the ambitions of writers across Africa and her diaspora and the ambition, talent and skill exhibited in the long list was exhilarating. Even beyond the very deserving winner and the two runners-up, there are books on the longlist that deserve to find their readers in the wider world. It was a unique experiment, that will, I believe, culminate in reading pleasure for many, on the continent and beyond.

The winner will receive 300,000 Kenyan Shillings (equivalent $3500), with 2nd place receiving 150,000 KShs and 3rd place 75,000 KShs.

The Kwani? Manuscript Project was launched in April 2012 and called for the submission of  unpublished novel manuscripts from African writers across the continent and in the diaspora. The prize received over 280 qualifying submissions from 19 African countries. On 12th April 2013 a longlist of 30 was announced and on 17th June a shortlist of seven was announced.

Kwani Trust’s Managing Editor, Billy Kahora said: 

In reviewing the shortlisted stories, I’m blown away by the potential these manuscripts hold, the different styles, concerns and voices that they bring to new contemporary African literature, and further add to Kwani’s fiction list. We can’t wait to bring them out as novels in the region and partner with publishing houses across the continent to make them available across Africa.

Kwani Trust plans to publish the winners, as well as additional manuscripts from across the shortlist and the longlist, with the first titles planned for publication in April 2014. The Trust will also be partnering with regional and global agents and publishing houses to secure high profile international co-publication opportunities. Read more about it at Kwani?