South Africans dominate Etisalat Prize for Literature longlist

Nigeria’s innovative and fastest growing telecommunications services company, Etisalat, last week announced the longlist for the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature. This year’s longlist of nine books have been chosen from a field of over 100 titles submitted from across the continent. In all, South Africans dominate the longlist, with six writers and two Nigerians – Ifeoluwapo Adeniyi (On the Bank of the River) and Chigozie Obioma (The Fishermen) – making the longlist and one Democratic Republic of Congo, Fiston Mwanza Mujila.

The longlist for the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature include Ifeoluwapo Adeniyi (Nigeria), On the Bank of the River, Penny Busetto (South Africa), The Story of Anna P, as Told by Herself, Z P Dala (South Africa), What About Meera, Kurt Ellis (South Africa), By Any Means, Paula Marais (South Africa), Shadow Self, Fiston Mwanza Mujila (Democratic Republic of Congo), Tram 83, Masande Ntshanga (South Africa), The Reactive, Chigozie Obioma (Nigeria), The Fishermen, Rehana Rossouw (South Africa), What Will People Say?

The longlist was selected by an esteemed three-member judging panel. Professor Ato Quayson, Molara Wood and Zukiswa Wanner. Quayson said, “The range of submissions for the Etisalat Prize this year represents the vitality of literary writing on the continent, and the longlist is a selective showcase of the best to be found. The subjects covered in the longlist are so fascinating and varied that it would take another novel just to describe them all. Magnificent!”