Etisalat Prize for Literature Award Holds May
Winners of the 2016 edition of the Etisalat Prize for Literature award will be announced on May 20, 2017 during the grand finale/award presentation ceremony which will hold at the Balmoral Hall, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Matthew Willsher, who made this known, said that the winners will be selected from three shortlisted authors.
According to Willsher, the authors are: Jacqui Lange, author of The Seed Thief; Jowhor lle, author of And After Many Days, and Julie Iromuanya, author of Mr. & Mrs. Doctor.
He stressed that the Etisalat Prize for Literature underscores the firm’s unwavering commitment to the development of African literature.
“The Etisalat Prize entails a rigorous process which the winner and the two runners-up have endured. We are elated by the thoroughness of the entire process: from the call for entries, the longlist, the shortlist and finally, the award ceremony, where the winner will be unveiled. We thank the panel of judges for their fair evaluation of the entries and commitment that has resulted in the uncovering of a literary talent in fiction writing that Africa can boast of” , Willsher said.
As a prelude to the award presentation ceremony, Etisalat will organize a series of literary events including book reading sessions, book donations, a flash fiction training workshop, media visits and interviews aimed at connecting the three finalists with literary enthusiasts in key cities across Africa.
The winner of the Etisalat Prize will receive £15,000, an engraved Montblanc Meisterstück pen and a high-end device. The winner will also attend the Etisalat-sponsored fellowship at the University of East Anglia under the mentorship of Giles Foden, an English author best known for his novel, The Last King of Scotland.
In addition, the winner and the two runners-up will also participate in a multi-city book tour sponsored by Etisalat, thereby, earning global recognition. Another big plus for the shortlisted authors is that Etisalat will purchase 1,000 copies of their books for distribution to schools, libraries and book clubs across the African continent.
Helon Habila, currently an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at George Mason University, United States and a multiple award-winning writer, is the chairman of the panel of judges for the 2016 Etisalat Prize for Literature. Other members are Ivorian writer and translator, Edwige-Renée Dro and Zimbabwean-born South African writer, Elinor Sisulu.
The Etisalat Prize for Literature is the first ever pan-African award that celebrates first time writers of published fiction books of over 30,000 words.
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