Winner of Etisalat Prize for Literature emerges May 20

ON May 20, a question that had agitated the minds of the literati within and outside Nigeria, will be finally answered as the winner of the 2016 Etisalat Prize for Literature emerges.

Happening a bit late this year, one of the trio of Jacqui L’Ange (The Seed Thief), Jowhor Ile (After Many Days) and Julie Iromuanya  (Mr & Mrs Doctor) will emerge winner of the prize at the grand finale at Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Not only will the winner receive £15,000, an engraved Montblanc Meisterstück pen and a high-end device, he/she will also attend the Etisalat-sponsored fellowship at the University of East Anglia under the mentorship of Professor Giles Foden, author of ‘The Last King of Scotland’

The winner and the runners-up will also participate in a multi-city book tour sponsored by Etisalat, while 1,000 copies of their books will be bought by Etisalat for distribution to schools, libraries and book clubs across Africa.

Speaking ahead of the grand finale, the Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mathew Willsher, said: “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 long list, the shortlist and finally, the award ceremony where the winner will be unveiled. We thank the judging panel 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.”

Multiple award-winning writer and academic, Helon Habila, currently associate professor of creative writing at George Mason University, US chaired the jury. The other jury members are Ivorian writer and translator, Edwige-Renée Dro and Zimbabwean-born South African writer, Elinor Sisulu.