The long journey that’s Etisalat Prize for Literature

It has been described as one of Africa’s most prestigious prizes for literature. And rightly so. Since it was established, aside from the mouth-watering £15,000 (over N6m) prize to the winner, the Etisalat Prize for Literature, regarded as Africa’s answer to the Nobel Prize for literature, has increased the visibility of African writers and their […]

It has been described as one of Africa’s most prestigious prizes for literature. And rightly so. Since it was established, aside from the mouth-watering £15,000 (over N6m) prize to the winner, the Etisalat Prize for Literature, regarded as Africa’s answer to the Nobel Prize for literature, has increased the visibility of African writers and their works to the rest of the world.

Created in 2013 by Etisalat Nigeria, one of the most highly regarded and fastest growing telecommunications company, the Etisalat Prize for Literature is the first ever pan-African prize that annually celebrates new African writers of published fiction books of over 30,000 words. The works entered for consideration should have been published in the last 24 months before the prize announcement.

The winner of the prize, selected among a chosen few, receives £15,000 and a fellowship at the renowned University of East Anglia, where the author would be mentored by distinguished professors, including Prof. Giles Foden, author of the Last King of Scotland.

Not only that, it opens a global vista of opportunities, not only for the winner, but all the shortlisted authors.

As for the local publishing industry, the Etisalat Prize for Literature offers a major boost. The telecom giant would purchase at least 1,000 copies of all shortlisted books, which are then donated to libraries, schools and book clubs across the continent.

Also, the prize promotes the discovery of budding talents in the African literary space, among the shortlisted names and books. 

Past winners of the Etisalat Prize for Literature include Fiston Mwanza Mujila from The Democratic Republic of Congo (Tram 83; 2015); South African novelist Songeziwe Mahlangu (Penumbra, 2014) and Zimbabwean writer NoViolet Bulawayo (We Need New Names, 2013).

For the 2016 edition, the three shortlisted works from a long list of nine names, comprising six South Africans and three Nigerians, were selected by a celebrated panel of judges, chaired by Caine Prize winner, Helon Habila.

Two Nigerians and one South African make the final shortlist. They are Jowhor Ile (Nigeria), author of After Many Days (Kachifo Limited, Nigeria); Julie Iromuanya (Nigeria), author of Mr & Mrs Doctor (Coffee House Press, USA) and Jacqui L’Ange (South Africa), author of The Seed Thief (Umuzi Publishers, South Africa).

These authors could be said to be the crème de la crème of a long list of literary talents bursting through the African literary space in the 21st century. 

Ile’s works, for instance, have appeared in notable publications like the McSweeney’s Quarterly and Litro Magazine. 

‘After Many Days’, the shortlisted book by the Nigeria-based Ile, is a moving debut novel centred around a missing boy in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, and the family drama that followed his disappearance and the revelation of dark secrets.

Nigeria’s Iromuanya was born and raised in the United States of America. She is also a finalist for the 2016 PEN/Faulkner Award. Her shortlisted book, ‘Mr & Mrs Doctor’ brilliantly unravels the intricate web of lies and deceit around a Nigerian college dropout in the US who lied to his family back in Nigeria that he was a medical doctor.

Last but not the least, is Cape Town-based L’Ange, who also writes films and television series and investigative non-fiction with a focus on environmental issues and sustainable development. Her shortlisted work, ‘The Seed Thief’, chronicles the adventures of a South African botanist who embarks on a trip to Brazil to find a plant that can cure cancer and how she discovered love and peace in her search.

Each of the finalists has one thing in common with the others. No matter who emerges winner at the end of the day, being shortlisted for the prize is a golden recognition of their works.  

The Prize, after all, underscores the importance of recognising writers of African descent from anywhere in the world.

“In addition to originality of voice and literary excellence, our purpose was to select a work that portrays an ‘African sensibility’,” noted Habila.

Before the Etisalat Prize for Literature made a grand entrance into the scene, there had been other notable literary prizes, including the Caine Prize for African Writing, organised from the United Kingdom, among others. However, with a cash prize of £15,000, compared to £10,000 for the Caine Prize, the Etisalat Prize is one of the biggest ever prize on the continent and compares only to other more globally acclaimed literary prizes.

Also, it must be said that prestigious African literary prizes, such as the Etisalat Prize, go beyond filling the bank accounts of winners. 

While some of the shortlisted authors and eventual winners could be said to have some degree of recognition in the African literary space, the Etisalat Prize provides a platform that immediately launches them from hovering around the tarmac of greatness to greater heights of continental and global prominence.

However, some critics have questioned the Etisalat Prize for Literature and its focus of rewarding one writer with such a lump sum instead of distributing it to publishers across the continent.

But it appears the critics fail to see the big picture of its impact on the African literary scene. The prize, since its inception, has also created a conveyor belt of inspiration for a thousand more literary talents across the continent that would read the works of these shortlisted authors and be inspired to capture and publish their own accounts of the African experience. 

Beyond the jolt of fresh inspiration it provides for thousands of budding African writers, it remains one of the most prestigious literary prizes on the continent, in terms of cash prize: £15,000. 

For many years to come, the Etisalat Prize for Literature, being such a prestigious recognition of talent and storytelling excellence, will be applauded for creating a new platform by which the most captivating African narratives are presented to the world, while simultaneously raising a new generation of great African writers.