They've announced the nine-title longlist for the Etisalat Prize for Literature -- which is:
The nine titles were selected from: "a field of over 100 titles submitted from across the continent" -- though regrettably we are not informed what those titles are. It's also a bit disappointing to see that six of the nine finalists are by South African authors, and that only three nations are represented on the longlist (which seems rather few for a prize with pan-African aspirations).
And pity the poor judges now, who: "have the task of selecting a shortlist of three at a retreat in the Seychelles in December".
the first pan-African prize that is open solely to debut fiction writers of African citizenship and has now established itself as the most prestigious literary prize for African fiction.I'm not so sure about that last bit, but admirably they've at least expanded the field: apparently no longer do the submitted titles have to be written in English (just available in English ...) -- which means a very worthy title such as Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza Mujila made the longlist.
The nine titles were selected from: "a field of over 100 titles submitted from across the continent" -- though regrettably we are not informed what those titles are. It's also a bit disappointing to see that six of the nine finalists are by South African authors, and that only three nations are represented on the longlist (which seems rather few for a prize with pan-African aspirations).
And pity the poor judges now, who: "have the task of selecting a shortlist of three at a retreat in the Seychelles in December".