4 Nigerians make Gerald Kraak Award shortlist

Four Nigerians have been shortlisted for the Gerald Kraak Award. They are Amatesiro Dore, Otosirieze Obi-Young, Olakunle Ologunro, and Ayodele Sogunro. This was announced by the Jacana Literary Foundation and The Other Foundation. The list of 14 also has writers and photographers from South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, and Mauritius. Nigeria’s Amatesiro Dore was selected for […]

Four Nigerians have been shortlisted for the Gerald Kraak Award. They are Amatesiro Dore, Otosirieze Obi-Young, Olakunle Ologunro, and Ayodele Sogunro.

This was announced by the Jacana Literary Foundation and The Other Foundation. The list of 14 also has writers and photographers from South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, and Mauritius.

Nigeria’s Amatesiro Dore was selected for his work of fiction, ‘For Men Who Care.’ The judges said this about it: “A complex and thoughtful insight into a part of elite Nigerian life, as well as the ways in which buying into certain brands of patriarchy can be so deeply damaging and have direct and unavoidable consequences.”

Otosirieze Obi-Young is on the shortlist for his story ‘You Sing of a Longing’, described as “a thoroughly modern epic, but with bones as old as time. It is a story of love and betrayal and madness and music that is all the more beautiful for its plainspoken poignancy. Yet there is prose in here that steals your breath away.”

‘The Conversation’ by Olakunle Ologunro is said to provide valuable insight into issues of intimate partner violence, family acceptance and the complexity of gender roles in many modern African contexts.

Ayodele Sogunro’s academic piece, titled ‘One More Nation Bound in Freedom’ is an informative writing that gives a crisp and ‘objective’ voice to the many themes “that cut across this anthology.”

The winner, who receives a cash prize, will be announced at an award ceremony in May 2017, hosted by The Other Foundation and expected to be attended by the authors of the top three submissions as well as the judging panel and project partners. 

The Jacana Literary Foundation is a non-profit organization which seeks to promote and foster excellent writing through a number of initiatives.