Accra, Ghana, November 13, 2013: The winners of the 2013 Golden Baobab Prizes have been announced. They are as follows:
- Liza Esterhuyse from South Africa, who wins the Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books with her story, The Little Hippo.
- Karen Hurt, also from South Africa, who wins the Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books for her story, What’s Going on at 179 Jabulani Street? and
- Kanengo Rebecca Diallo from Tanzania, who wins the Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Writers for her story, Pieces of Africa. The Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Writers is given to a young writer who is 18 years and below who shows exceptional literary promise.
The 2013 Golden Baobab Prizes received a total of 180 submissions. The longlist for the Prizes, which was announced on 30th August, showcased 25 stories selected from 6 African countries. The shortlist followed in early November with 8 stories from Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria. This year’s prizes winners represent two countries: South Africa and Tanzania.
This is the fifth year of the Golden Baobab Prizes, which were established in July 2008 to inspire the creation of enthralling, culturally relevant African children’s stories by African writers. The prizes offer monetary prizes, publishing opportunities for winners of the Picture Book and Early Chapter Book Prizes, and the opportunity for the Rising Writer to be a part of the prestigious panel of judges for the 2014 prizes.
Judges for the 2013 Golden Baobab Prizes include award winning author and founder of the Brunel University African Poetry Prize, Bernardine Evaristo, recipient of the Honor Award in Lee & Low Books’ New Voices Contest, Zetta Elliott, African Studies scholar, Esi Sutherland-Addy, IBBY SA Chairperson, Nonikiwe Mashologu, English teacher and researcher, Annette Hansen, and Osayimwinse Osa, founding editor of the Journal of African Children’s and Youth Literature (JACYL).
Last year’s winners of the Golden Baobab Prizes were Joy Nwiyi from Nigeria, Jenny Robson from Botswana and South Africa and Rutendo Chabikwa from Zimbabwe.
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About the Golden Baobab Prizes
The Golden Baobab Prizes for literature were established in July 2008 to inspire the creation of enthralling African children’s stories by African writers. The Prizes invite entries of unpublished stories written by African citizens irrespective of age, race, or country of origin. The Prizes are organized by Golden Baobab, a Ghana-based pan African social enterprise dedicated to supporting African writers and illustrators to create winning African children’s books. The organization’s Advisory Board includes renowned authors Ama Ata Aidoo and Maya Ajmera. Golden Baobab is proudly supported by Echoing Green, Reach for Change, The Global Fund for Children and The African Library Project.
For further information, photos or to arrange interviews, please contact: Nanama B. Acheampong via info@goldenbaobab.org
Tel: +233302 265215
Website: www.goldenbaobab.org
