Longlist for the Annual Etisalat Prize for Literature 2015
Have you heard that Etisalat Prize for Literature has finally announced its 2015 longlist? The news went out in Lagos, Nigeria on:the 12th of November, 2015:
The longlist of nine books was drawn from over 100 titles submitted from all over Africa.
The longlist for the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature are:
Ifeoluwapo Adeniyi (Nigeria), On the Bank of the River

Penny Busetto (South Africa), The Story of Anna P, as Told by Herself
Z P Dala (South Africa), What About Meera
Kurt Ellis (South Africa), By Any Means
Paula Marais (South Africa), Shadow Self

Fiston Mwanza Mujila (Democratic Republic of Congo), Tram 83
Masande Ntshanga (South Africa), The Reactive
Chigozie Obioma (Nigeria), The Fishermen
Rehana Rossouw (South Africa), What Will People Say?
Aa the press release stated, “The longlist was selected by an esteemed three-member judging panel: Professor Ato Quayson, Professor of English and inaugural Director of the Centre for Diaspora Studies at the University of Toronto (Chair of Judges); Molara Wood, writer, journalist, critic and editor; and Zukiswa Wanner, author of Men of the South and London Cape Town Joburg.”
According to the press release, here are the judging panel’s comments:
Professor Ato Quayson: “The range of submissions for the Etisalat Prize this year represents the vitality of literary writing on the continent, and the longlist is a selective showcase of the best to be found. The subjects covered in the longlist are so fascinating and varied that it would take another novel just to describe them all. Magnificent!”
Zukiswa Wanner: “The books on the longlist evoked many emotions in me as a judge and as a reader for the originality of their plots and the beauty of the language used. I know I shall be revisiting and gifting to friends many of them long after the winner has been announced.”
Molara Wood: “The longlisted books push the boundaries in their themes and inventive use of language. This is a rich array of bold new writing on what it means to be human in the world today, by irresistible African voices.”
The judges select a shortlist of three at a retreat in the Seychelles this December. Shortlisted writers will go on a multi-city tour. 1,000 copies of the shortlisted books will be purchased by Etisalat to be distributed to schools, libraries and book clubs across Africa.
The winner will receive £15,000, an engraved Montblanc Meisterstück pen and will attend an Etisalat sponsored fellowship at the University of East Anglia, mentored by Professor Giles Foden, author of The Last King of Scotland.
