The shortlist for the 2021 Kendeka Prize for African Literature has been announced today.
The five stories on this inaugural short list were chosen from the list of the thirteen long listed by a panel of three Judges.
- The panel was chaired by Lucas Wafula, a Kenyan, the Editor-in-chief and CEO pf Booklyst Press Limited. He is also a Director and Lead Facilitator at the Global Editorial Centre-KE.
- Also on the panel is Edwige Renée Dro, a writer, a literary translator and a literary activist from Côte d’Ivoire.
- The third judge is Remy Ngamije, a Rwandan-born Namibian writer and photographer, the founder and the administrator of Doek. He had won the Africa Regional Prize of the 2021 Commonwealth Short Story Prizeand was shortlisted for the AKO Caine Prize for African Writing in 202
The list was chosen from 23 African nations.
2021 Short listed stories in no particular order
- “Time And Bodies” by Ekemini Udo Pius, Nigeria
- “Au Pair” by Okpanachi Irene Ojochegbe, Nigeria
- “The Women of Atinga House” by Fatima Okhousami, Nigeria
- “The Painting From A Country In Europe” by Azeeza Adeowu, Nigeria
- “Water For Wine” by Jenny Robson, Botswana
The top three winners will be announced during the award ceremony to be held on the 25th September, 2021, at Fourteen Falls Leisure Lodge, Thika, Kenya, starting at 2.15 pm in FULL observance of Covid 19 Protocols. The ceremony shall be LIVE both on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/kendekaprize/live_videos/) and on Youtube (https://youtu.be/iPsYErmLJDY).
For details visit www.kendekaprize.com.
The first Prize is Kshs 100,000, the second and the third prizes are Kshs 50,000 and 25,000 respectively.
The Kendeka Prize for African Literature is an initiative by Andrew Maina, a Kenyan writer through Solano Publications Limited. It aims at encouraging Africans to write and read more. In participating in this contest, new talents have been discovered and when nurtured, they could be great writers, perhaps following in the footsteps of Ngugi Wa Thiongo, CamaraLaye and Chimamanda Ngozi Andichie among others.
The Prize is run by an Advisory Board, chaired by James Murua. Other members are Andrew Maina, Tom Odhiambo, Muthoni wa Gichuru, Mercy Kiragu, Patrick Gatobu and William Mureithi.