Musing On The Etisalat Prize For ‘Fiction’ – Sorry ‘Literature’

By Africa in Words Guest on 21 March , 2014 • ( 1 )

AiW Guest Toni Kan

Literary prizes are strange animals. As subjective as they often are, they usually confer immediate entrée into the rarefied heights of the literary canon. And because they are strange animals, one is almost never surprised when things go awry or fail to turn out as planned – like Jean-Paul Sartre refusing his Nobel, Dambudzo Marechera throwing plates at the awarding of his Guardian prize, or Helon Habila slagging off a co-Caine Prize winner’s debut novel for pandering. In fact as James English highlighted in his The Economy of Prestige, this is often the way in which prizes accumulate their cultural capital.

Strange animals behave strangely and the Etisalat Prize for Literature, the most recent big prize to come out of the African continent, began exhibiting some strangeness right from the get-go when it called on readers to vote for their top 20 submissions in its flash fiction category. A female writer, feeling affronted at being reduced to the status of, say, an X-factor hopeful, instantly withdrew, expressing her umbrage in a very public letter to the organizers. Exposing the flaws in the way the online voting system was organised, she was not, she said, going to take part in a popularity contest. Prizes she argued needed sifting, panels and experts.

But there were experts aplenty to judge. Eghosa Imasuen, author of Fine Boys and COO of Kachifo judged the 20 flash fiction stories selected by readers. The judging panel for Etisilat’s prize for a debut work of fiction was made up of Sarah Ladipo Manyika, author of In Dependence; Billy Kahora, Caine Prize nominee and Managing Editor of Kwani? and Chair, Pumla Gqola, academic, public intellectual and writer.

Yewande Omotoso, Karen Jennings & NoViolet Bulawayo

A shaky start notwithstanding, this new literary prize was successfully concluded at a glitzy event, well attended by members of the Lagos literati, on Sunday February 23, 2014 at the Marquee of the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos. Here NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names (Chatto & Windus) was announced winner of the inaugural Etisalat Prize for Literature – the first Pan-African Prize celebrating debut fiction novels from writers of African citizenship.

Bulawayo who won the Caine Prize in 2011 for an excerpt from her novel, is also the first African female writer to be shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. She beat off competition for the Etisilat Prize from two other female writers, Yewande Omotoso with Bom Boy (Modjaji) and Karen Jennings with Finding Soutbek (Holland Park Press) to go home with a £15,000 cash prize, attend the Etisalat Fellowship at the prestigious University of East Anglia (mentored by Giles Foden – Author of The Last King of Scotland) and embark on a three city book tour alongside the other runner up authors.

Uche Okonkwo receives her cheque as winner of the Etisalat Flash Fiction Prize

Before Bulawayo was announced as winner, grand dame of African literature Ama Ata Aidoo came on stage to announce the winner of the flash fiction prize. She commented that flash fiction has been practised for centuries in Africa, but it wasn’t until the advent of the internet than it became recognized as a genre. She also highlighted the immense talent and courage it takes to tell a compelling story in a small space, before awarding the prize to Uche Okonkwo for her story “Neverland”. Uche, a graduate of the Manchester University writing programme, went home with a Samsung Galaxy notebook and £1000.

Another highlight of the award ceremony was a unique performance from celebrated music legend, Youssou N’Dour who thrilled with songs from his repertory as well as Bob Marley’s classic ‘Redemption Song’. The high point of his performance was undoubtedly his duet with Nigerian singer, Ruby, who joined him on stage for his hit song, “7 Seconds” originally done with Neneh Cherry.

NoViolet Bulawayo on stage with Etisalat Prize Judges, Patrons & organisers

As guests milled around after the event, conversation turned to a snafu in the documentary shown during the award ceremony. Ostensibly making a beeline for the canon, the Etisalat Prize attempted to trace the history of the development of African literature. However, as is always the case with making lists, they left out some notables including Olaudah Equiano and Nigeria’s Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka. While one guest argued the omission needed to be seen in the context of the prize’s focus on fiction, another argued that Soyinka wrote novels and Olaudah’s work is the first long narrative by an African. Moreover, as the same guest went on to add, the prize itself is called the Etisalat Prize for Literature not fiction.

Omissions or not, the fact remains that African writers need recognition and nothing confers that faster than a literary prize. So we see winners of the Caine Prize winning a lot more than the £10,000 prize money, as they sign book deals and become globally renowned writers. But the Caine Prize, like the discontinued NOMA which was awarded to deserving works irrespective of genre, and the NLNG sponsored Nigerian Prize for Literature continue to attract controversy on account of what they offer and are perceived not to offer. In the case of the Caine Prize, critics wonder why a short story and only one author should win £10,000 and why African writing is being canonized (that word again) by foreign interests. For the NLNG Prize the issues have been many from its insistence on awarding the prize to only Nigerians living in Nigeria (that rule has been changed) to the rotation of the prize among different genres over a four year cycle.

It is clear prize administrators are taking note and making changes, as we hope that the Etisalat Prize administrators will do too. However, while controversy and strange behaviour keep us talking, we shouldn’t forget to pay attention to the writing that the Etisalat Prize was founded to celebrate. Blips aside, this new pan-African literary prize has broken new ground and provides a welcome opportunity for literary talent in Africa. Time will tell how well it is sustained and nurtured.

Toni Kan is the author of the poetry collection When a Dream Lingers too Long, the novella Ballad of Rage, and most recently the short story collection Nights of the Creaking Bed (Cassava Republic). His novel The Carnivorous City was shortlisted for the Kwani? Manuscript Project. He is one of Nigeria’s most anthologised poets and short story writers, and his work has appeared in Salthill, Drum Voices, Revue, Farafina, Sentinel Poetry Quarterly and ANA Review. He currently edits the ‘Sunday Sun Revue’, a weekly 4 page literary supplement in Sunday Sun.