The Miles Morland Foundation (MMF) has announced changes for its prestigious Writing Scholarships. Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, founder of The Indigo Press and new chair of the Caine Prize, and Olufemi Terry, winner of the 2010 Caine Prize, have left the judging panel, and have been replaced by Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, founder of Cassava Republic Press, and Otosirieze Obi-Young, deputy editor of Brittle Paper. Muthoni Garland, one of the founders of Storymoja, remains on the panel and is the new chair.
Founded in 2013, the Miles Morland Writing Scholarships, an initiative of the Miles Morland Foundation, itself founded by Miles Morland, offer a fiction scholarship of £18,000 to two or three writers over the course of twelve months and a nonfiction scholarship of £27,000 to one or two writers over the course of eighteen months. The funds are “paid…to allow them to take time off to write the book they have proposed.” Writers are required to submit a published piece of 2,000-5,000 words. Although entries do not have to be about Africa, preference is given to Africa-related submissions. The MMF has as its Manager Mathilda Leigh. Among the MMF’s trustees are Giles Foden, author of The Last King of Scotland and professor of creative writing at the University of East Anglia, and Michela Wrong, journalist and author of In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz and It’s Our Turn to Eat.
See the press release below—a message from the founder Miles Morland.
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Morland Writing Scholarships – Judges
The Miles Morland Foundation is pleased to announce our Judges’ Panel for 2019. This year we have two new faces on the panel of three. It was time to refresh the panel but our decision was made easier by the Caine Prize nicking Ellah Allfrey and Femi Terry. We felt that having them judging both Caine and us would be too incestuous. If nicking your judges is the sincerest form of flattery, thank you, Caine.
Ellah and Femi have been on the panel since we started the Scholarships six years ago. We are much in their debt. Ellah has been an outstanding and deeply knowledgeable chair and Femi, while championing people he felt strongly about, has always been open to other views.
Our new panel is:
- Muthoni Garland (Chair)
- Bibi Bakare-Yusuf
- Otosirieze Obi-Young
Muthoni has been on the panel for four years. She, a writer herself and a short-lister for the Caine Prize, is the den mother of Kenyan literature and a founder of Storymoja, the Nairobi writers’ collective. She will make a brilliant Chair.
Bibi is co-founder of Cassava Republic Press, a leader of the new wave of African publishing houses. She is a Yale World Fellow, a Desmond Tutu Fellow, and an acute judge of African writing.
Otosirieze Obi-Young is Deputy Editor of the brilliant Brittle Paper, one of Africa’s most on the ball and talked-about literary publications. He is a discerning judge of cutting edge writing. At 25 he has become one of the grand old men of Nigerian literature.
We think this is a terrific judging panel and, no, we didn’t choose them just because their names are impossible to spell.
Go to our website (www.milesmorlandfoundation.com) for details of the 2019 Scholarships.
For any queries please contact Mathilda Leigh at:[email protected]
Miles Morland
May 1st 2019
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Previous winners of the MMF Scholarships are: Tony Mochama, Doreen Baingana, and Percy Zvomuya in 2013; Yewande Omotoso, Simone Hayson, Ndinda Kioko, and Ahmed Khalifa in 2014; Fatin Abbas, Bolaji Ofin, and Akwaeke Emezi in 2015; Abdul Adan, Lidudumalingani, Ayesha Haruna Attah, and Nneoma Ike-Njoku in 2016; Bryony Rheam, Elnathan John, Alemseged Tesfai, Eloghosa Osunde, and F.T. Kola, in 2017; and Edwige Dro, Kola Tubosun, Sibabalwe Masinyana, and Siphiwe Ndlovu in 2018.
The 2019 Miles Morland Writing Scholarships will be open for submissions on 30 June 2019 and close on 30 September 2019.
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