The shortlist for the 2014 Etisalat Prize for Literature has been announced with Nadia Davids, Chioma Okparanta and Songeziwe Mahlangu making the final three from which one winner will emerge.
Announced today, December 10 by Etisalat Nigeria, which organises the pan African award for a first book of fiction, Davids got on the list for An Imperfect Blessing (Random House Struik-Umuzi); Okparanta for Happiness Like Water (Granta Publication) and Songeziwe Mahlangu for Penumbra (Kwela Books, Imprint of NB Publishers).
“From a strong long list we are now delighted to announce this year’s shortlist which showcases hitherto untold stories from across the continent and beyond,” said Chair, Panel of Judges of the prize, Sarah Ladipo Manyika,
The judges are delighted at the quality of entries that resulted in a strong shortlist of three contenders, and believe that any of the shortlisted writers would make a worthy winner.
“Whether it is David’s multigenerational family story set in Cape Town’s Muslim community at the dawn of the new South Africa, or Okparanta’s bittersweet tales of loss and love in Nigeria and abroad, or Mahlangu’s unflinching exploration of mental illness set in contemporary South Africa, each of these books is uniquely compelling. This is a shortlist that delights in the newness of the topics being explored and in the diversity of narrative form. From short stories, to the short novel, to the epic novel; each is a gem in its own right,” Manyika said.
Chief Executive Officer at Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher expressed delight at the quality of writers attracted to the Etisalat Prize for Literature competition.
The winner of the Etisalat Prize for Literature 2014 will be presented with a cheque of £15,000, an engraved Montblanc Meisterstuck and will attend the Etisalat Fellowship at the prestigious University of East Anglia, mentored by Professor Giles Foden, author of the Last King of Scotland.