The short story by Mukoma wa Ngugi ‘How Kamau wa Mwangi Escaped into Exile’ has been shortlisted for the 2009 Caine Prize. The article was published in issue 54 of Wasafiri in Summer 2008, and can be read here: http://www.caineprize.com/pdf/2009_Ngugi.pdf
The Caine Prize is awarded to a short story published in English by an African writer whose work has reflected African sensibilities. Widely known as the ‘African Booker’, it is regarded as Africa’s leading literary award and is currently celebrating its tenth anniversary. This year there were over 120 entries coming in from 12 African countries.
The nomination continues Wasafiri’s past success with the prize. S.A. Afolabi’s article ‘Monday Morning’, published in issue 41 of Wasafiri, won the Caine Prize in 2006, and Uzor Maxim Uzoatu’s short story ‘Cemetery of Life’ was shortlisted in 2008.
The judging panel this year is chaired by New Statesman Chief Sub-Editor Nana Yaa Mensah, Professor Jon Cook of the University of East Anglia, novelist and Professor Jennifer Natalya Fink, Guardian journalist and author Hannah Pool, and novelist, journalist and bookseller Mohammed Ugar. The £10,000 prizewinner will be announced at a celebratory dinner at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, on Monday 6 July.
For further information on Wasafiri, visit www.tandf.co.uk/journals/wasafiri or contact jodie.keyse@tandf.co.uk
