The Caine Prize for African Writing 2014

The Caine Prize for African Writing is awarded to an African writer of a short story published in English, whether in Africa or elsewhere, reflecting the contemporary development of the African story-telling tradition. The first prize was awarded in 2000 at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair 2000 in Harare and it’s usually awarded every July. This year’s winner is Kenya’s Okwiri Oduor for her short story entitled: “My Father’s Head” from Feast, Famine and Potluck (Short Story Day Africa, South Africa, 2013).

The other 4 shortlisted entries for this year were:

1. Diane Awerbuck (South Africa) “Phosphorescence” in Cabin Fever (Umuzi, Cape Town. 2011)
2. Efemia Chela (Ghana/Zambia) “Chicken” in Feast, Famine and Potluck (Short Story Day Africa, South Africa. 2013)
3. Tendai Huchu (Zimbabwe) “The Intervention” in Open Road Review, issue 7, New Delhi. 2013
4. Billy Kahora (Kenya) “The Gorilla’s Apprentice” in Granta (London. 2010)
   

The Caine Prize for African Writing 2011

I discovered the competition for The Caine Prize for African Writing 2011 quite by accident a little while ago. I am sure many of you can relate to this. I was surfing the web, reading a variety of posts and articles and stumbled upon it. The Prize is awarded to an African writer of a short story published in English, whether in Africa or elsewhere. The first prize was awarded in 2000 at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair 2000 in Harare and it’s usually awarded every July. I read this years’ 5 entries, enjoyed them immensely and wanted to share them here:

• David Medalie’s “The Mistress’s Dog” (South Africa)
• Laurie Kubuitsile’s “In the Spirit of McPhineas Lata” (Botswana)
• Timothy Keegan’s “What Molly Knew”  (South Africa)
• Beatrice Lamwaka’s “Butterfly Dreams” (Uganda)
• NoViolet Bulawayo’s “Hitting Budapest” (This year’s winner from Zimbabwe)