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The Golden Baobab Prizes for African children’s literature have revealed the 14 stories that made it onto their longlist for 2014. Selected from a total of 210 stories received from 13 countries across the continent, this longlist showcases some of the finest African writers and African children’s stories today. With four writers each, Ghana and South Africa are the four most represented nationalities on the longlist. Other countries that had writers on the list were Egypt, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. The longlist represents stories submitted to the Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books and the Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books. No story from the Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Writers made it onto the 2014 longlist. Speaking on the prizes’ evaluation and selection processes, the Prize Coordinator, Delali Kumapley commented, “Stories submitted to the Golden Baobab Prizes go through an incredibly exhaustive evaluation process. We have a team of about thirty people fro...

The 2014 Golden Baobab Prizes have been launched and are calling for submissions. This year, Golden Baobab will award 6 prizes worth $20,000. These 6 prizes are: The $5,000 Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Book The $5,000 Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Book The $2,500 Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Writers The $5,000 Golden Baobab Prize for Illustrators The $2,500 Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Illustrators The Golden Baobab Lifetime Achievement in Children’s Literature Award This year marks the 6th anniversary of the 3 Golden Baobab Prizes for Literature. These prizes invite entries of unpublished stories for children written by African citizens irrespective of age, race, or country of origin. In November 2013, Golden Baobab launched the fourth and fifth prizes, The Golden Baobab Prizes for Illustrations, to do for African illustrators what the organization has been doing for African writers for the past 5 years: discovering, nurturing and celebrating their talent,...

Golden Baobab has announced the winners of its 2013 Prizes. One hundred and eighty (180) stories were submitted to this year's Golden Baobab Prizes. Of these, 25 made it onto the the longlist and 8 to the shortlist .  Liza Esterhuyse , winner of the 2013 Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Book . Liza is a qualified occupational therapist who has a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Intervention. Liza is many things: a daydreamer, a book junkie, a red wine drinker, a world lover, a tree hugger, a dog enthusiast, a horse admirer and a Capetonian.  The Little Hippo: Faraway in the savannah a little hippo sighed. The rains were late and the hippo-pool was getting very crowded. Then he notices the wildebeest, zebras and antelope gathering for their annual migration and he decides to join them. However, the little hippo quickly realises, that the journey is not as esy as he thought and it's filled with danger. Luckily, he meets friends along the way who help and guide him t...

Accra, Ghana November 1, 2013: 180 stories were submitted to this year's Golden Baobab Prizes. Of these, 25 made it onto the longlist and 8 to the shortlist. The 8 shortlisted stories are: The Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books The Princess with a Golden Voice by Philip Begho (Nigeria) The Little Hippo by Liza Esterhuyse (South Africa) The Grandma Mimo's Breakfast by Carol Gachiengo (Kenya) The Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books Seven by Sabina Mutangadura (Zimbabwe) Rhino by Richard Street (South Africa) What's going on at 179 Jabulani Street? by Karen Hurt (South Africa) The Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Writers The Little Secret by Fego Martins Ahia (Nigeria) Pieces of Africa by Kanengo Rebecca Diallo (Tanzania) According to the Chair of Judges for the Picture Book Prize, Zetta Elliott, whose first book, Bird , won the Honor Award in Lee and Low Books' New Voices Contest,  I am very impressed with the range and originali...

Now in its 5th year, the Golden Baobab Prizes for African children's literature were established in July 2008 to inspire the creation of enthralling African children's stories by gifted African writers. The prizes invite entries of unpublished stories written by African citizens irrespective of age, race, or country of origin.  Formerly known as the Baobab Prize, the Golden Baobab Prizes are the most prestigious annual awards for stories by Africans for African children. The evaluation process of the prizes is two-tiered: the reading session and the judging session. The longlist was announced after the reading session. The judging session begins October 1, 2013. The 2013 judges are: Esi Sutherland-Addy - Educator Bernardine Evaristo - Author Osayimwense Osa - Author, Editor, and Professor Nonikiwe Mashologu - Children's literature reviewer Zetta Elliot - Author and Educator Ahment Farah - Winner of the 2010 Golden Baobab Rising Writer Prize Nonikiwe Masholo...

The 2013 Golden Baobab Prize longlist has been announced. The prize,  celebrating its 5 th year, was set up to inspire the creation of enthralling African children’s stories. Golden  Baobab offers three prizes: The Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books, The Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books and The Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Writers. The Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books and The Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books is open to all African citizens. The Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Writers is open to budding African writers under the age of eighteen years. According to Nanama B. Acheampong, coordinator of the Golden Baobab Prizes, Golden Baobab is really excited about this year’s stories and we are looking forward to growing further by publishing a collection of these amazing stories we have received. We are currently looking to partner with corporations that share in our vision to bring these stories to the doorsteps of African children e...

The Golden Baobab Prize is in its fifth year. The literary award invites entries of unpublished African-inspired stories written for young audiences below the age of twelve. The mission of the Golden Baobab Prize is to inspire African writers to create enthralling African stories that will inspire the imaginations of generations of African children.  This year, Golden Baobab will award three prizes: The Picture Book Prize awards $1,000 to the best story written for readers ages 6 - 8; The Early Chapter Book Prize awards $1,000 to the best story written for readers 9 - 11; The Rising Writer Prize awards $1,000 to the most promising young writer below the age of 18. This year's prize packages include a publishing deal and opportunities to attend exclusive Golden Baobab writers' workshops. Additional rules and regulations can be found on the organiser's website . Please note that the Golden Baobab Prize is open to African citizens of all ages. Deadline for subm...

Winners of the Golden Baobab Prize for 2012 have been announced. The GB Prize is divided into three categories: The Senior Category, The Junior Category, and the Rising Writer Category. The goal of the GB Prize is "to inspire the creation of African stories that children and young adults the world over will love!" And this is long overdue since the focus of most novelist on the continent is not on this class of people. Joy Nwiyi from Nigeria won the Senior Category with her story  Something for Next Time . Joy is a graduate of the University of Calabar and also holds an M.A. from the University of Nigeria. The Senior category is aimed at readers between 12 and 15 years. Jenny Robson from Botswana and South Africa won the Junior Category with her story Wha-Zup Dude? . Robson is a music teacher who lives and works in Maun, Botswana, on the edge of the Okavango Delta. This category is aimed at readers between 8 and 11 years. Finally, Rutendo Chabikwa , from Zimbab...

Accra,  November 9, 2010  - The 2010 winners of the Golden Baobab Prize , a leading African  literary award , have been announced. This year  Lauri Kubuitsile  of Botswana,  Mirirai  Moyo  of Zimbabwe and  Ahmed Farah  of Kenya were selected as the distinguished winners by a  prestigious panel of judges . They join the growing circle of promising authors chosen by The Golden Baobab Prize, which is the only prize of its kind: it is awarded annually to inspire the creation of quality  African literature  to be enjoyed by youth readers all around the world. The prize offers a monetary award to its winners and connects outstanding stories with an array of African and international publishers.  This year,   Kubuitsile's  Mechanic’s Son  won her the Golden Baobab Prize for the best story written for ages 12-15 years.  Moyo’s  Diki, the Little Earthworm  was named the Golden Baobab Pr...

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: the best story written for readers aged 8-11 years the best story written for readers aged 12-15 years 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 ...