Accra, Ghana based yoga instructor S.Y Tetteh is the winner of the Koffi Addo Prize for Non Fiction 2016.
The Koffi Addo Prize for Non Fiction 2016 was announced by the judges led by NoViolet Bulawayo working with Yewande Omotoso and Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah. The essays in the running for the prize were Lost Futures Or: A Guide to Losing Love by S. Y. Tetteh, Missing Wombs by Ama Asantewa Diaka and Another One of Those by Kofi Konadu Berko. Of the three shortlisted writers, they opted to go with the yoga instructor proving that you this discipline is as good for the mind as it says.
The winning story Lost Futures Or: A Guide to Losing Love was described by Bulawayo as one “that yanks you in with its memorable voice and well-crafted prose, and holds you tight with an open, multi-layered, haunting tale of a frustrating love ship that is fated to never sail.”
The Kofi Addo Writivism Prize for Non Fiction is an annual award for non-fiction by emerging African writers resident in Ghana administered by the Center for African Cultural Excellence (CACE). You will know CACE as the folks behind the famous Writivism initiative with its festival, workshops and partnerships across the continent.
The Kofi Addo Prize for Non Fiction was started in honour of Nana Kofi Addo, Ex Werempehene of Kwahu-Twenedurase, who passed on December 2nd, 2011. In his retirement he authored and published, Letters to a Son: Guideposts to Morality and Discipline (Published by Dorrance U.S.A., 2000) and his second book, A Village Boy’s Dream – A Will to Succeed – An Autobiography (Self-published in 2009). He had numerous articles published in various magazines and left behind 3 unpublished manuscripts including Guidance for Young Women.
Noviolet Bulawayo in her statement about the prize also stated that, “Writivism’s inaugural Koffi Addo Prize for nonfiction not only gives us an opportunity to discover and celebrate new voices, but also tries to address the concerning lack of non fiction writing on the continent. It is a worthy project, for part of telling our stories in all their diversity and complexity, and doing so on our terms, means we need to own all the possible modes of expression.”
So what will the Africa’s newest literary prize sensation do with her US$500 winnings? She will be starting on her farm if her twitter is to be believed.
Decided what to do with my @Writivism prize money ! Starting my farm. Coconut lime orange morninga tree border 😌 art health culture !
— Yvette Tetteh (@YDTetteh) September 25, 2016
For those who wish to read the story, you will have to wait for it and the other shortlisted stories which will be in the annual Writivism Anthology, edited by Emmanuel Sigauke. That one which will also include the Writivism Prize Shortlisted stories promises fireworks.
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