The shortlist for the 2012 Caine Prize for African Writing has been announced today (Tuesday 1 May) by Ben Okri OBE, the new Vice President of the Prize.
The Chair of judges, author and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature Bernardine Evaristo MBE, has described the shortlist as “truly diverse fiction from a truly diverse continent.”
The Caine Prize, Africa’s leading literary award, is now in its thirteenth year. Involved from the beginning, Ben Okri, the internationally acclaimed Nigerian writer was announced as the Vice President of the Prize last week (26 April 2012). Ellah Allfrey OBE, deputy Editor of Granta magazine is the new Deputy Chair.
- The 2012 shortlist comprises:
- Rotimi Babatunde (Nigeria) ‘Bombay’s Republic’ from ‘Mirabilia Review’ Vol. 3.9 (Lagos, 2011)http://mirabilia.webs.com/
- Billy Kahora (Kenya) ‘Urban Zoning’ from ‘McSweeney’s’ Vol. 37 (San Francisco, 2011)www.mcsweeneys.net
- Stanley Kenani (Malawi) ‘Love on Trial’ from ‘For Honour and Other Stories’ published by eKhaya/Random House Struik (Cape Town, 2011) www.randomstruik.co.za
- Melissa Tandiwe Myambo (Zimbabwe) ‘La Salle de Départ’ from ‘Prick of the Spindle’ Vol. 4.2 (New Orleans, June, 2010) www.prickofthespindle.com
- Constance Myburgh (South Africa) ‘Hunter Emmanuel’ from ‘Jungle Jim’ Issue 6, (Cape Town, 2011) www.junglejim.org
In her first year as Caine Prize Administrator Lizzy Attree stated, “this year’s shortlist represents the best of short African fiction published worldwide. I’m looking forward to working with Ben Okri and Ellah Allfrey to continue to establish the Caine Prize as the mark of excellence in African literature.”
Selected from 122 entries from 14 African countries Bernardine Evaristo said, “I’m proud to announce that this shortlist shows the range of African fiction beyond the more stereotypical narratives. These stories have an originality and facility with language that made them stand out. We’ve chosen a bravely provocative homosexual story set in Malawi; a Nigerian soldier fighting in the Burma Campaign of WW2; a hardboiled noir tale involving a disembodied leg; a drunk young Kenyan who outwits his irate employers; and the tension between Senegalese siblings over migration and family responsibility.”
The winner of the £10,000 prize is to be announced at a celebratory dinner at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, on Monday 2 July.
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Source: http://www.caineprize.com/news.php
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No b small tin. Which day this prize go reach me oo.
Did you enter the competition?
Best question ever.
hehehehehehehehe @kaycee! hehehehehehehehe
I hope the Nigerian get to be picked.I remember the story tht won d 2010 prize ‘stickfighting days’ by d sierra-leone-Nigerian Olufemi…Best wishes to d Nigerian fly d flag well.Lest I forget congrats to Ben Okri on d new appointment
I’m glad the managers of the Caine Prize are beginning to realize that writing can enriched only when writers can be more diverse in their themes and styles. Good luck to those shortlisted.
Gudluck to them.
Congrats to the shortlisted authors(my predecessors).
I shall prepare and wait, one day, my chance will come…
I am reading these short-lists soon.
Good one for the Nigerian, read his entry and it was both hilarious and full of messages. I hope he clinches it.
….don’t wait so long, otherwise one might just be longlisted.