Apr 11, 2016 EL Reports is very excited by all the wonderful things happening on the African literary scene in recent years.
From adaptation of African books into blockbuster films to the global recognition of African literary egg heads, the world is indeed getting familiar with African Literature.
In recent weeks, there has been quite a buzz about two really great events on the scene.
One is the UK launch of Cassava Republic Press, one of Africa’s leading publishing houses.
The other, as you might have guessed is the Etisalat prize for literature awards; the biggest and most prestigious literary award on the African continent.
If you missed the event, this is the perfect event for a flashback Monday. The award ceremony was…
CEO of Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher, gave us a little background into the establishment of the annual award.
“We are here to celebrate a tremendous wealth of literary talent, not just in Nigeria, but in Africa as a whole…it was launched originally in 2013”
Then the prizes! Nigerian writer Modupe Kuti, smiled home with a cash prize of 1000 pounds after winning the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature in the Flash Fiction Category.
And the winning novel for this edition of the awards was originally written in French by DR Congo born poet and novelist, Fiston Mwanza Mujila, Tram 83 revolves around the life of an idealistic writer sucked into the dystopian world of his gangster friend, who reigns supreme in the debauched nightlife of a secessionist City.
Tram 83 was later translated into English by Roland Glasser and published by Deep Vellum.
It is the first novel by a DR Congo writer to be translated into English in over two decades.
Fiston Mwanza Mujila had previously received several awards including the Gold Medal at the 6th Jeux de la Francophone in Beirut as well as the Best Text for Theater in 2010.
The award comes with a very impressive £15,000 cash prize, an engraved Montblanc Meisterstück and an iphone 6S.