Nii Parkes to chair Caine Prize judges for 2017

Award winning Ghanaian novelist, poet and editor Nii Ayikwei Parkes has been named as chair of judges for the 2017 Caine Prize for African Writing. The announcement was made last week in a statement from the administrators of the Caine Prize revealing the names of the five judges who will decide the winner of the […]

Award winning Ghanaian novelist, poet and editor Nii Ayikwei Parkes has been named as chair of judges for the 2017 Caine Prize for African Writing.

The announcement was made last week in a statement from the administrators of the Caine Prize revealing the names of the five judges who will decide the winner of the 2017 Caine Prize.

Mr. Parkes will be joined on the panel by 2007 Caine Prize winner, Monica Arac de Nyeko, author and chair of the English Department at Georgetown Unviersity, Prof. Ricardo Ortiz, Libyan author and human rights campaigner, Ghazi Gheblawi and African literary scholar, Dr Ranka Primorac.

Commenting on his appointment as chair of judges, Mr Parkes, author of the popular novel Tail of the Blue Bird said, “I have been a consumer of fiction from Africa for close to four decades, revelling in its range, its humour, its insights and dynamic linguistic palette. So, I am ecstatic to be asked to chair the panel for this year’s Caine Prize and look forward to working with this incredible assembly of judges. There is, of course, the selfish pleasure, as an editor, of getting a first look at some of the finest writing coming from the continent and its foreign branches.”

The judging panel will meet in May 2017 to determine which entries will make the shortlist. An announcement confirming the shortlist will be made in mid-May.

For the first time in the 18 year history of the Caine Prize, the award will be announced on Monday 3 July at Senate House, London, in collaboration with the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), which is celebrating its centenary.

Deadlines for submissions for the 2017 prize will be on January 31, 2017 and only publishers can enter a single short story by any given author for the competition which carries a cash prize of 10, 000 pounds.

‘Memories We Lost’ by South African author Lidudumalingani won the 2016 Prize.