The shortlist for the 2013 Caine Prize for African Writing has been
announced today (Wednesday 15 May) – and among the five stories chosen
are an unprecedented four Nigerian entries. The Chair of judges, art historian and broadcaster, Gus Casely-Hayford
said, “The shortlist was selected from 96 entries from 16 African
countries. They are all outstanding African stories that were drawn
from an extraordinary body of high quality submissions.” Gus described the shortlist saying, “The five contrasting titles
interrogate aspects of things that we might feel we know of Africa –
violence, religion, corruption, family, community – but these are
subjects that are deconstructed and beautifully remade. These are
challenging, arresting, provocative stories of a continent and its
descendants captured at a time of burgeoning change.” The winner of the £10,000 prize is to be announced at a celebratory dinner at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, on Monday 8 July. The 2013 shortlist comprises:
Chinelo Okparanta (Nigeria) ‘America’ from Granta, Issue 118 (London, 2012) Read America
As always the stories will be available to read online on our website
www.caineprize.com and will be published with the 2013 workshop stories
in our forthcoming anthology A Memory This Size in July 2013 by New
Internationalist and seven co-publishers in Africa. Alongside Gus on the panel of judges this year are award-winning
Nigerian-born artist, Sokari Douglas Camp; author, columnist and Lord
Northcliffe Emeritus Professor at UCL, John Sutherland; Assistant
Professor at Georgetown University, Nathan Hensley and the winner of the
Caine Prize in its inaugural year, Leila Aboulela. Once again, the
winner of the £10,000 Caine Prize will be given the opportunity of
taking up a month’s residence at Georgetown University, as a
Writer-in-Residence at the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social
Practice. The award will cover all travel and living expenses. The
winner will also be invited to take part in the Open Book Festival in
Cape Town in September 2013.
Last year the Caine Prize was won by Nigerian writer Rotimi
Babatunde. He has subsequently co-authored a play ‘Feast’ for the Young
Vic and the Royal Court theatres in London. Read a short biography of the five shortlisted writers here. View this press release as a PDF here... Dates for the Diary This year the shortlisted writers will be reading from their work at
the Royal Over-Seas League on Thursday, 4 July at 7pm and at the
Southbank Centre, on Sunday, 7 July at 6.30pm. On Friday, 5 July at
2-5pm and Saturday, 6 July at 5pm the shortlisted writers will also take
part in the Africa Writes Festival at The British Library, organised by
ASAUK
Nigeria’s Tope Folarin has won the 2013 Caine Prize for African
Writing, described as Africa’s leading literary award, for his short
story entitled ‘Miracle’ from 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 exquisitely observed and utterly
compelling". Tope Folarin is the recipient of writing fellowships from the
Institute for Policy Studies and Callaloo, and he serves on the board of
the Hurston/Wright Foundation. Tope was educated at Morehouse College,
and the University of Oxford, where he earned two Master's degrees as a
Rhodes Scholar. He lives and works in Washington, DC.
Also shortlisted were:
Chinelo Okparanta (Nigeria) ‘America’ from Granta, Issue 118 (London, 2012) Read America
The panel of judges is chaired by Dr Gus Casely-Hayford, art historian
and broadcaster, who presented the eight part documentary series 'Lost
Kingdoms of Africa' on the BBC. He is currently a Research Associate at
SOAS and consultant to the King's Cultural Institute. Gus sits on the
Tate Britain Council and the National Portrait Gallery Board of
Trustees.
Alongside Gus on the panel of judges this year are award-winning
Nigerian-born artist, Sokari Douglas Camp; author, columnist and Lord
Northcliffe Emeritus Professor at UCL, John Sutherland; Assistant
Professor at Georgetown University, Nathan Hensley and the winner of the
Caine Prize in its inaugural year, Leila Aboulela. This is the first
time that a past winner of the Caine Prize has taken part in the
judging.
Once again the winner of the £10,000 Caine Prize will be given the
opportunity to take up a month's residence at Georgetown University, as a
Writer-in-Residence at the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social
Practice and will be invited to take part in the Open Book Festival in
Cape Town in September.
Last year the Caine Prize was won by Nigerian writer Rotimi Babatunde.
He recently co-authored Feast, a Royal Court/Young Vic co-production
which ran at the Young Vic as part of World Stages for a World City.
Previous winners are Sudan's Leila Aboulela (2000), Nigerian Helon
Habila (2001), Kenyan Binyavanga Wainaina (2002), Kenyan Yvonne Owuor
(2003), Zimbabwean Brian Chikwava (2004), Nigerian Segun Afolabi (2005),
South African Mary Watson (2006), Ugandan Monica Arac de Nyeko (2007),
South African Henrietta Rose-Innes (2008), Nigerian EC Osondu (2009),
Sierra Leonean Olufemi Terry (2010) and Zimbabwean NoViolet Bulawayo
(2011).
View the press release here (PDF)...
