The shortlist for the 2014 Caine Prize for African Writing has been announced by Nobel Prize winner and Patron of the Caine Prize Professor Wole Soyinka with no Nigeria making the list. The announcement was made Tuesday night as part of the opening ceremonies for the UNESCO World Book Capital 2014 celebration in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Soyinka making the announcement
Among those shortlisted are: Diane Awerbuck (South Africa) “Phosphorescence” in Cabin Fever; Efemia Chela (Ghana/Zambia) “Chicken” in Feast, Famine and Potluck and Tendai Huchu (Zimbabwe) “The Intervention” in Open Road Review. Others are: Billy Kahora (Kenya) “The Gorilla’s Apprentice” in Granta and Okwiri Oduor (Kenya) “My Father’s Head” in Feast, Famine and Potluck.
A statement from the organiser said that to commemorate 15 years of the Caine Prize this year, £500 will be awarded to each shortlisted writer.
The Chair of judges, award-winning author Jackie Kay MBE described the shortlist as, “Compelling, lyrical, thought-provoking and engaging. From a daughter’s unusual way of grieving for her father, to a memorable swim with a grandmother, a young boy’s fascination with a gorilla’s conversation, a dramatic faux family meeting, to a woman who is forced to sell her eggs, the subjects are as diverse as they are entertaining.”
The winner of the £10,000 prize is to be announced at a celebratory dinner at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, on Monday 14 July.