The winners of the African Writers Awards 2019 were announced at the African Writers Conference in Nairobi on September 28, 2019.
The African Writers Conference brings together writers of African descent to a common platform on the advancement of the collective interests of African writers. The first edition of the African Writers Development Trust event was hosted in Abuja, Nigeria in 2018 and the second was hosted in Nairobi, Kenya this year.
One of the most anticipated activities at the conference is the announcement of the winners of the African Writers Awards 2019. They are judged by Nahida Esmail, Adah Bitiah Chembo, Kolabomi Adeko, and Sabah Carrim in the areas of children’s literature, poetry, and prose in flash fiction and short stories. The longlist for the awards was announced on July 30 while the shortlist was announced on August 26, 2019.
The winners of the awards were announced on Saturday, September 28 and they are;
- Children’s Literature (Judged by Nahida Esmail) – The Zappinator by Eme Ogbu (Nigeria).
- Flash Fiction (Judged by Adah Bitiah Chembo) – Breaking the Norm; Ungrateful Girl by Temani Nkalolang (Botswana).
- Poetry (Judged by Kolabomi Adeko) – Pongwe’s Life by Andrea B Matambo (Zambia).
- Short Stories (Judged by Sabah Carrim) – Hiding by Priscillar Matara (Botswana).
- The Wakini Kuria Award – The Wakini Kuria Award for African Literature (Children’s Literature) was created in honour of Charity Wakini Kuria who was an avid lover of literature, a writer and supporter of literary endeavours, a strong believer in the possibilities of life, and until her death the Chief Editor of Writers Space Africa Magazine. The first winner of the award is Marjorie Moono Simuyuni of Zambia.
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