Caine Prize 2007

Monica Arac de Nyeko, a Crossing Borders participant from Uganda, has been shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing 2007. Her shortlisted story 'Jambula Tree' is from African Love Stories (Ayebia Clarke Publishing, 2006).

Writers from Nigeria feature prominently on the eighth Caine Prize for African Writing, producing three of the five shortlisted stories for this year's competition. Writers from Uganda and South Africa make up the five strong shortlist.

The 2007 shortlist comprises:

Uwem Akpan (Nigeria), 'My Parents Bedroom'

Monica Arac de Nyeko (Uganda), 'Jambula Tree'

E. C. Osondu (Nigeria) 'Jimmy Carter's Eyes'

Henrietta Rose-Innes (South Africa) 'Bad Places'

Ada Udechukwu (Nigeria) 'Night Bus'

The winner of the £10,000 prize is to be announced at a celebratory dinner at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, on Monday, 9th July. The winner will take up a month's residence at Georgetown University, Washington DC, as a 'Caine Prize/Georgetown University Writer-in-Residence'.

In addition the judges highly commended Crossing Border's participant Billy Kahora from Kenya for his story ‘Treadmill Love’ from The Obituary Tango (Jacana/New Internationalist, 2006).

'The range of this year's shortlist confirms that writers are testing the limits of what subjects they can address. From modern folk tales to social alienation, violent crime and sexual orientation. It is a welcome development', commented Jamal Majhoub, the Chair for the 2007 judging panel. Jamal, who was born in London and bought up in Khartoum, has published seven novels, which have been translated into many languages. His numerous awards include the Mario Vargos Llosa Premio NH de Relatos in 2006 and he has previously been shortlisted for the Caine Prize in 2004 with 'The Obituary Tango', from Wasafiri.

The judging panel this year also includes Kenyan academic, critic and writer Dr Wangui wa Goro, award-winning novelist Delia Jarett-Macauley, South African poet and novelist Jonty Driver and  former Zed Books Managing Editor, Robert Molteno.

Published: 01/05/2007

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