News | Brittle Paper Announces Nominations For Inaugural Brittle Paper Literary Awards 2017.
Come September
23, 2017 winners would be named for inaugural 2017 Brittle Paper Literary Awards. Brittle Paper, a Blog, is celebrating its
seventh anniversary with the launching of “Brittle Paper Literary Awards”, an award
that recognises the finest, original pieces of African writing, published
online across Africa.
The
awards which come in five categories range from Fiction, Poetry, Non-fiction, and
Essays/Think pieces to the anniversary Award for works published online. The
winners in the fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction and essay/think pieces
categories will receive $200 each while the Anniversary Award winner will get
$300.
The shortlists were made based on quality,
relevance, and impact. Shortlisted fiction, poetry, nonfiction and essays/think
pieces categories were those published from January, 2016 to July 2017 while anniversary
award is for works published online between August, 2016 and July, 2017.
The celebration is not only of writers and
their relevant works, it’s equally of blogs, magazines, journals, websites and
their editors and publishers who are challenging the gate keeping of old
literary institutions by setting up accessible, open spaces where true literary
diversity can thrive.
The organizers underscores the critical role
digital and social media play in creating new opportunities for creative works
to flourish. Brittle Paper Literary
Awards is a step to showing gratitude to African writers for inhabiting the new
intellectual space with grace and imagination.
The nominated works for Award for fiction
include, “A Door Ajar” (Sibongile
Fisher) which was published online in “Short Story Day Africa: Migration”
(South Africa), “A short History of Zaka
the Zulu” (Petina Gappah) in “The New Yorker” (Zimbabwe), “God’s Children are Little Broken Things”
(Arinze Ifeakandu) in “A Public Space”
(Nigeria), and “Ships in High Transit”
by (Binyavanga Wainaina) in Expound (Kenya).
Others in the list for Award for fiction
category are “Triptych: Texas Pool Party”
by (Namwali Serpell) in “Triple Canopy”
(Zimbabwe), “Farang” (Mega Ross) in “Short
Story Day Africa: Migrations” (South Africa), “Squad” by (Linda Musita) in Enkare Review (Kenya), “Tea,” (TJ Benson) in “Short Story Day
Africa: Migrations” (Nigeria), “The Upright
Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright,” by (Ngugi wa Thiong’o) in Jalada
(Kenya) and “Beautiful,” by (Helon
Habila) in Adda (Nigeria).
However, the nominees in poetry category Award include
“Pythagoras
Theorem,” by (Nick Makoha) in Adda (Uganda), “application for asylum,” (Safia Elhillo) in Frontier Poetry
(Sudan), “Credo to Leave,” (JK Anowe)
in Expound (Nigeria), “Your Body Is War,”
by (Mahtem Shiferraw) in Hermeneutic Chaos Journal (Ethiopia / Eritrea), “A Series of Solitudes,” (Fiston Mwanza
Mujila) in Enkare Review (DR Congo) and “How
to Paint a Girl,” by (Gbenga Adesina) published in The New York Times
Magazine (Nigeria).
Also nominated in poetry category are “Water,” by (Koleka Putuma) published in
PEN South Africa (South Africa), “I Ask
My Brother Jonathan to Write about Oakland, and He Describes His Room,” by
(Yalie Kamara) in African Poetry Prize (Sierra Leone / USA), “Metamorphosis,” (Romeo Oriogun), in Brittle
Paper (Nigeria) and “The Colour of James Brown’s Scream,” by (Kayo Chingonyi) published
in African Poetry Prize (Zambia / UK).
The
nominees for creative Non-fiction/Memoir category award include “Working the City,” by (Bernard Matambo)
published in Transition (Zimbabwe), “Out
of Europe—Traveling with the Caine Prize in Germany,” (Rotimi Babatunde) in
Caine Prize Blog (Nigeria), and “How It
Ends,” (Troy Onyango) in The Magunga (Kenya). Similar nominees were “Fugee,” by (Hawa Jande Golakai) in Safe House/Granta (Liberia), “Naijographia,” by (Bethuel Muthee) in
Enkare Review (Kenya), “Uniben Boy in
Berlin,” (Oris Aigbokhaevbolo) in Brittle Paper (Nigeria) and “Since Everything Was Suddening into a
Hurricane,” by (Binyavanga Wainaina) in Granta (Kenya).
The
works and authors nominated for Essay/Think pieces category award are: “Penpoints, Gunpoints, and Dreams: A History
of Creative Writing Instruction in East Africa,” by (Billy Kahora)
published in Chimurenga (Kenya), “In the
Shadow of Context,” by (Kola Tubosun) in Enkare Review (Nigeria), “Poverty Porn: A New Prison for African
Writers,” (Richard Oduor Oduku) in Richardoduor.wordpress.com (Kenya) and “An Architect of Dreams: On Ngugi wa
Thiong’o’s Devil on the Cross,” by (Tope Folarin) in Los Angeles Review of
Books (Nigeria).
Others are “When
We Talk about Kintu,” by (Ellah Allfrey) in Brittle Paper (Zimbabwe / UK), “Writes of Passage, an Urban Memoir, “The
Labours of the Months: Of Work and Its Refuseniks,” by (Rotimi Babatunde)
in Praxis (Nigeria), and “All Your Faves
Are Problematic: A Brief History of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Stanning, and
#BlackGirlMagic,” by (Sisonke Msimang)
published in Africa Is a Country (South Africa)
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