AT THE START OF THE 2010s, a community of Nigerian poets had formed on Facebook, sharing links to poems, offering free critiques. Young and promising, they were in search of opportunities. In 2015, one of them, Samson Iruesiri Kukogho, registered Words, Rhymes & Rhythm, a publishing company operating from Ibadan, Lagos, and Abuja, meant to […]
Tag Archives: caine prize
The Brittle Paper Interview with the Caine Prize 2019 Winner: Lesley Nneka Arimah
In July, Lesley Nneka Arimah received the 2019 Caine Prize, the award’s twentieth edition, for her short story “Skinned,” published in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern‘s Issue 53. The Nigerian writer, whose debut book, the story collection What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky (2017), won the Kirkus Prize and the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction […]
For Failure to Attribute an Original Source, the Caine Prize Removes Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor’s All Our Lives from 2019 Shortlist, as Short Story Day Africa Releases Statement on Intertextuality
Last week, we received suggestions of similarity between two short stories. One, the Nigerian writer Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor’s “All Our Lives,” won the 2018 Short Story Day Africa (SSDA) Prize, was shortlisted for the 2018 Brittle Paper Award for Fiction and the 2019 Caine Prize, and was published in print in the SSDA anthology ID: […]
Lesley Nneka Arimah Wins the 2019 Caine Prize, on Her Third Shortlisting
Lesley Nneka Arimah has won the 2019 Caine Prize, the prize’s twentieth edition, for her short story “Skinned,” published in McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern‘s Issue 53. The announcement was made an hour ago at the award dinner at Senate House, University of London, organised in partnership with SOAS and the Centre for African Studies. The Nigerian […]
The Inaugural Africa Writes – Bristol Festival, an Offshoot of Africa Writes in London, Set for Seven Days of Performances, Panels, Launches & Workshops
In 2017, Africa Writes, the UK’s biggest festival celebrating African literature, moved beyond London for the first time, organizing pop-up events across the country in Edinburgh, Birmingham, and Bristol. With the Bristol event proving the most successful in terms of audience and partner engagement, the Festival decided to plan and develop it as an independent […]
The Caine Prize Announces 2019 Shortlist
Update: For failure to attribute an original source, the Caine Prize, in September 2019, removed Tochukwu Emmanuel Okafor’s “All Our Lives” from its 2019 shortlist, while Short Story Day Africa released a statement on intertextuality. Five writers—from Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria—have been shortlisted for the 2019 Caine Prize, for short stories that explore “the […]
Influential Publisher, Editor & Critic Ellah Wakatama Allfrey Is the New Chairperson of the Caine Prize
The influential publisher, editor, critic, and broadcaster Ellah Wakatama Allfrey is now Chairperson of the Caine Prize for African Writing. Allfrey, who is Zimbabwean, and is a Trustee of the Prize, will be replacing Dr Delia Jarrett-Macauley in her role as Chair of the Board of Trustees and of the Advisory Council of the Caine […]
Tope Folarin’s Debut Novel Is Set for Summer 2019 Release
Tope Folarin’s debut novel is titled A Particular Kind of Black Man and is set for a summer 2019 release by American publisher Simon and Schuster. Folarin became one of the break out stars of African literature in 2013 after he won the Caine Prize for African Writing. His winning short story titled “Miracle” is […]
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