—Bulawayo’s win of first Etisalat African Book Prize:
NoViolet Bulawayo’s win of the first Etisalat African Book Prize which centres on fiction written by an African in any part of the world, did not come as a complete surprise owing to the fact that the prize needed Bulawayo’s status to gain attention globally, moreso when Bulawayo is the first Black woman from Africa to be shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, a prize which doesn’t only announce an author’s rise in the literary world but also attracts the huge sale of the author’s work.
Zimbabwe’s Bulawayo, who won the £15,000 (N4.12 million) cash prize, had burst onto the literary scene with her Caine Prize winning story, “Hitting Budapest,” in 2011, a story about the abuse of young children in a poor community in Zimbabwe. This later formed the background of her story for her novel, We Need New Names, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2013, making Bulawayo the first Black woman from Africa to have been shortlisted since the inception of the prize more than 40 years ago.
According to the organizers of the award, the winner of the Etisalat African Book Prize, which is for authors publishing their first novel, will embark on the Etisalat Fellowship at the University of East Anglia, mentored by Professor Giles Foden (author of The Last King of Scotland). But the website of University of Anglia states that recipients of the Etisalat Fellowship should visit the UK Border Agency Website before they accept the award in order to ensure that they are able to score the requisite number of points needed to apply for entry clearance which only applies to individuals subject to a certificate of sponsorship currently living outside the UK.
With this, Bulawayo needs no hurdle to cross, doesn’t give the lawyers of Etisalat any hassle since she was in United Kingdom last year for the Man Booker Prize and her name rings a bell in every corner of the literary community in the UK. The four-month fellowship will also enable her to introduce the prize to University of Anglia and the literary community in Britain since that is the brand that brings her into Anglia for such fellowship.
A good prize for African authors publishing their first novel, a good story by Bulawayo, We Need New Names will not only create new names in African writing years to come but will also bring out many diverse stories representing the continent. One hopes Etisalat will keep up this good work, that the brand live up to the standard it created in the literary world.
The award presentation ceremony, which took place at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, saw Uche Okonkwo winning the flash fiction prize for her story, “Neverland”. She got a cash prize of £1,000 (N275, 000) and a Samsung Galaxy note. Runners-up were Bonaventure Chukwu for “Fear”, and Nzere Jeremiah for “Silent Screams,” each winning £500 (N138, 000) and Samsung Galaxy notes.
The other two shortlisted authors who competed with Bulawayo for the Etisalat African Book Prize are Yewande Omotosho for “Bom Boy”, and Karen Jenning for “Finding Soutbek”, both of whom were presented with Samsung Galaxy notes during the ceremony. They are to tour two African cities and Etisalat will purchase 1,000 copies each of their books which will be distributed across the continent.
