Michael Afenfia, Uwem Akpan, and Sylva Nze Ifedigbo are on the shortlist for the Chinua Achebe Prize for Literature 2022 announced on October 20, 2022.
Chinua Achebe was the author of Things Fall Apart (1958) the most well-read novel written by an African. His other novels were No Longer At Ease, Arrow of God, A Man of the People, and Anthills of the Savannah. He is also the author of many works of nonfiction. His influence was also felt in his role as a pioneer of the Heinemann African Writers Series which introduced many African writers to the world.
In 2021, the Association of Nigerian Authors unveiled the Chinua Achebe Prize for Nigerian Writing to be awarded to the best novel published by a Nigerian writer in each calendar year. It was given an endowment by Anambra State, Achebe’s home state, for 1,000,000 Naira prize money; it was awarded to the first winner Obinna Udenwe.
The 2022 cycle of the prize is upon us as the General Secretary of the Association, Maik Ortserga has issued a statement announcing the shortlisted writers and their books. They are;
- Rain Can Never Know, Michael Afenfia
- New York My Village, Uwem Akpan
- Believers and Hustlers, Sylva Nze Ifedigbo
The jury for 2022 features Prof Razinat T. Mohammed, the Head of the Department of English at the University of Abuja, and James Tar Tsaaior, Ph.D., Professor of English, Media and Cultural Studies & Senior Associate Research Fellow at the Department of English University of the Free State Bloemfontein, South Africa. “According to the judges “the vitality, variety, and grandeur of creative talents among Nigerian writers is once again demonstrated through an impressively diverse array of entries in the 2022 edition”.
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