2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize Shortlists: South Africans Dominate Again
Alert! The 2008 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize shortlists have been announced, and, as in 2007, South African writers dominate the Africa region, occupying no fewer than seven of the twelve spots – including BOOK SA’s own Finuala Dowling!
Nigeria was the second most represented, with three of its writers making the cut, and a Kenyan and a Gambian round off the numbers.
The CWP is a two-tier, two-phase award, with regional winners – in Africa, Canada and the Caribbean, Europe and South Asia, and South East Asia and the South Pacific – going on to compete for top overall honours in the “Best Book” and “Best First Book” categories.
Among local publishers, Penguin South Africa fared the best: three of its titles made the shortlists.
The titles in the running for Best Book – Africa are:
- Barbara Adair (South Africa) End Jacana
- Ifeoma Chinwuba (Nigeria) Waiting for Maria Spectrum Books
- Finuala Dowling (South Africa) Flyleaf Penguin
- Karen King-Aribisala (Nigeria) The Hangman’s Game Peepal Tree Press
- Susan Mann (South Africa ) Quarter Tones Harvill Secker
- Zakes Mda (South Africa) Cion Penguin
Shaun Johnson’s The Native Commissioner, also a Penguin title, won the prize last year.
Meanwhile, the titles up for Best First Book – Africa (which Maxine Case won in 2007, for All We Have Left Unsaid) are:
- Sade Adeniran (Nigeria) Imagine This SW Books
- Ceridwen Dovey (South Africa) Blood Kin Penguin
- Dayo Forster (Gambia) Reading the Ceiling Simon and Schuster
- Ken Kamoche (Kenya) A Fragile Hope Salt Publishing
- Sumayya Lee (South Africa) The Story of Maha Kwela
- Carel van der Merwe (South Africa) No Man’s Land Umuzi
The two regional winners will be announced on 13 March, and will take home a prize of £1000. The overall Best Book and Best First Book winners will be announced in South Africa in May, where the stakes are considerably higher: £5 000 for the latter and £10 000 for the former.
Good luck to the shortlistees!
Book Details
- End by Barbara Adair
EAN: 9781770093058
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- Flyleaf by Finuala Dowling
EAN: 9780143025313
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- Quarter Tones by Susan Mann
EAN: 9780099502678
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- Cion by Zakes Mda
EAN: 9780143025429
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- Blood Kin by Ceridwen Dovey
EAN: 9780143025306
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- The Story of Maha by Sumayya Lee
EAN: 9781415200285
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- No Man’s Land by Carel van der Merwe
EAN: 9780795702457
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Apr
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