The shortlist for this year’s edition of the annual James Currey Prize for African Literature, have been announced by the jury.
The annual literary prize for the best unpublished work of fiction written in English by any writer, set in Africa or on Africans in Africa or in Diaspora was established by the Nigerian-born writer, filmmaker, publisher and University of Oxford scholar, Onyeka Nwelue, and was named after the eminent British publisher of African literature and studies, James Currey.
Announcing the shortlist for the prize, which is worth £1,000 and is currently in its second year, the jury chair, Ever Obi, declared: “The major work is done.”
The five shortlisted entries are: Child of the Corn by Rose Okeke (Nigeria), Paperless by Buntu Siwisa (South Africa), Madness by Esomnofu Ebelenna Tobenna (Nigeria), Lord Kitchener by Abenea Ndago (Kenya) and Mandiga’s Well by Mohammed Hammie (Tanzania).
The winner will be announced at a ceremony at the University of Oxford on September 3.
