Nigerians in line for James Currey Prize for African Literature 2021

Three Nigerians are among the 10 writers on the long list for the 2021 James Currey Prize for Literature. The winner receives £1,000. States differ over Buhari’s grazing routes directive After long silence, South East leaders condemn secessionist threats In a statement, the chairperson of the Jury, Sarah Inya Lawal, noted that a shortlist would […]

Three Nigerians are among the 10 writers on the long list for the 2021 James Currey Prize for Literature.

The winner receives £1,000.

• States differ over Buhari’s grazing routes directive
• After long silence, South East leaders condemn secessionist threats

In a statement, the chairperson of the Jury, Sarah Inya Lawal, noted that a shortlist would be released on July 1, and this would be followed by the announcement of the winner on September 3 at a prize ceremony scheduled in the United Kingdom (UK).

Among Nigerians on the long list is Ani Kayode Somtochukwu, with his work titled, ‘And Then He Sang A Lullaby.’ Somtochukwu is a writer and poet, whose poems were shortlisted for the 2017 Erbacce Poetry Prize and has had his works on several international magazines.

Also on the list is Therapy Sessions by Onyekachi Peter Onuoha. Onuoha is an English and Literary Studies lecturer at the University of Calabar. The writer, with years of experience in publishing, is a 2018 recipient of Volkswagen’s Foundation Scholarship on Digital Humanities.

The James Currey Prize for African Literature was established in 2020 by a Nigerian writer, filmmaker and publisher of Hattus Books, Onyeka Nwelue, in honour of James Currey, the leading publisher of academic books on Africa, dedicated to distributing books about Africa in Africa.

It is an annual award for the best unpublished work of fiction written in English by any writer, set in Africa or on Africans in Africa or in the Diaspora.

Jury members include a Canada-based Nigerian publisher, Bibi Ukonu; Dr. Pinkie Megkwe (Botswana); Barbara Adair (South Africa); Kennedy Ekezie-Joseph (Nigeria); Arun Jay (India) and Miko Yamanouchi (Japan).

Others among the long list are Walking in Honey by Noella Moshi; The Devil’s Daughter by Khumbo Mhone; They Like Us Dead by Adio-Adet Dinika; Bones and Runes by Stephen Embleton; The Masses on Ashes by Okwudiri Job; Pebbles Picked on the Beach by Moraa Gitaa; The Rage of Lambs by Solomon Kobina Aremu and A Reign of Terror by Ntando Gerald