Earlier this month, the Caine Prize for African Writing — a short-story prize launched in 2000, with its inaugural winner Sudanese writer Leila Aboulela — announced its 2017 judging panel:
The panel will be chaired by author Nii Ayikwei Parkes, who will be joined by 2007 Caine Prize winner Monica Arac de Nyeko; author and Chair of the English Department at Georgetown University Ricardo Ortiz; Libyan author Ghazi Gheblawi; and literary scholar Ranka Primorac.
The deadline for submissions to the 2017 Caine Prize is Jan. 31, and stories must be by “an African writer published in English,” either originally in English or in English translation. An African writer “is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, or who is a national of an African country, or who has a parent who is African by birth or nationality.”
The winner takes £10,000, while each of the five shortlisted writers are granted £500 each. What’s more, “Winning and short-listed authors will be invited to participate in writers’ workshops in Africa, London and elsewhere as resources permit.”
The five-story shortlist will be announced in mid-May, with the winner announced in London on July 3.
There are typically few submissions from North African writers, or from writers originally published in non-English languages. However, according to the guidelines, “Works translated into English from other languages are not excluded, provided they have been published in translation, and should such a work win, a proportion of the prize would be awarded to the translator.” Tunisian author Hassouna Mosbahi’s short story “The Tortoise,” trans. Peter Clark, was short-listed for the Caine in 2001.
More about how to enter at caineprize.com/how-to-enter/.
