Category Archives: Children’s literature

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Nigeria Prize For Literature 2015 Calls For Submissions

Sam Ukala was last year’s prize winner

So you know that the biggest prize in African literature is the Nigeria Prize For Literature right? Well it is. The worst part for the rest of us is that only Nigerians are in the running for the prize money; a whopping US$100,000. Lucky Nigerian people.

The prize gravitates around different genres of literature; prose fiction, poetry, drama and children’s literature. Last year the winner of the moolah was Sam Ukala in the drama category.

So the organisers of this years edition of the award have made a call out for submission. This year the prize is all about the kids as the genre being considered is children’s literature? The judges for this years edition will be Prof Uwemedimo Enobong Iwoketok who is chairing alongside Prof Charles Bobunde and Dr Razenatu Mohammed.

So if you want in then I suggest you send your 6 copies of your work as well as an e-copy if available, along with evidence of Nigerian citizenship (sob, where is the Pan Africanism) to;

The Nigeria Prize for Literature,

External Relations Division,

Nigeria LNG

INTELS Aba Road Estate,

Km 16, Aba Expressway,

PMB 5660, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

The work may be submitted by either author or publishers with the deadline being April 3rd, 2015. Good luck my Naija people.

You may also go here to keep up with information on the event. Or just keep coming to this blog. We’ll keep you up to date.

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Golden Baobab 2014 Winners unveiled

Mary Ononokpono Photo/http://bookshybooks.blogspot.com

The winners of 2014 Golden Baobab Prizes were announced yesterday. After many hundreds of entries and tension as we waited to see who would be considered the best picture story, early chapter prize and illustrator who considers children their target audience from the shortlisted few. The esteemed judges came to a decision and the winners are:

  • Picture Books – Portia Dery, from Ghana for Grandma’s List
  • Early Chapter Books – Mary Ononokpono, from Nigeria for Talulah the Time Traveler (Bookshy Books have a great interview of hers here)
  • Illustrators – Xanele Puren, from South Africa. The Golden Baobab Prize for Illustrators is the biggest and most prestigious prize committed to discovering, nurturing and celebrating talented African illustrators of children’s stories.

Golden Baobab Prize Winners 2014

For those who are not in the know this award for children literature is now in its 6th year of the Golden Baobab Prizes. The lucky winners go home with $20,000 in monetary awards, publishing opportunities for winners of the Picture Book and Early Chapter Book Prizes, and the winner of the Illustration prize attends a Golden Baobab award ceremony and a traveling exhibition of artist’s illustrations.

 

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Doreen Baingana to judge Golden Baobab Prizes 2014

Doreen Baingana

The Golden Baobab has announced its judges for the 2014 Golden Baobab Prizes. Its about time. The prize was established to inspire the writing and publishing of African stories that captivate the minds of children, the prizes award $20,000 to talented African writers and illustrators. It also offers publishing and training opportunities to its honorees.

The 2014 judges are:

  • Doreen Baingana –  Multiple award-winning Ugandan author, Former chairperson FEMRITE
  • Summer Edward – Anansesem Caribbean Children’s Literature Ezine founder and editor, Children’s publishing consultant
  • Nancy Drost – Seasoned international educator, Golden Baobab board member
  • Kinna Likimani – Mbaasem Foundation board member, Celebrated book critic (kinnareads.com)
  • Nonikiwe Mashologu – African children’s literature critic, South African literacy activist
  • Kanengo Diallo -13-year old Tanzanian winner of the 2013 Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Writers
  • Paul O. Zelinsky – International Award-winning American Illustrator and Writer, Caldecott Medalist
  • Akua Peprah – Early Childhood Educator
  • Kofi Kokua Asante Anyimadu – 8-year old Ghanaian book lover

Kanengo Diallo

I like that children are on the judging panel as the books are targetted at them. They include 14 year old Kanengo Diallo who is a former winner of the prize who is joined by 8 year old lover Kofi Kokua Asante Anyimadu. Fellow book critic Kinna Likimani (kinnareads.com) also gets a shot at deciding who goes home with the dosh.

Deborah Ahenkorah the Executive Director of Golden Baobab was pleased with the new judges; “We are excited about working with our 2014 judges to discover and celebrate some of the best children’s story writers and illustrators in Africa today.”

The winners of the Golden Baobab Prizes will be who will be announced on November 13, 2014.

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Golden Baobab 2014 shortlist out

The Golden Baobab Prizes have announced their shortlisted writers for 2014. I’ve been following story for a bit with some interest as this is the most credible prize for Children’s Literature on the continent. Talented African writers and illustrators go home with $20,000 in prize money as well as publishing and training opportunities.
The shortlisted folks for the awards include 3 writers from South Africa, 2 from Ghana, 2 from Kenya and one each from Nigeria and Zimbabwe. They are:

The Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books

  • Portia Dery (Ghana) – Grandma’s List
  • Shaleen Keshavjee-Gulam (Kenya) – Malaika’s Magical Kiosk
  • Mandy Collins (South Africa) – There is a Hyena in my Kitchen
  • Mike Mware (Zimbabwe) – The Big Ball

The Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books

  • Bontle Senne (South Africa) – The Monster at Midnight
  • Mamle Wolo (Ghana) – Flying through Water
  • Mary Okon Ononokpono (Nigeria) – Talulah the Time Traveller
  • Hillary Molenje Namunyu (Kenya) – Teddy Mapesa and the Missing Cash
  • Jayne Bauling (South Africa) – The Saturday Dress

What did the panel that chose the shortlist have to say about the process? Golden Baobab executive director, Deborah Ahenkorah said, “Our esteemed judging panel has a tough job ahead and we wish them all the best! There are many wonderful stories in the shortlist this year. We are proud of the writers who have made it this far and wish them all the best! It is an honor for us here at Golden Baobab to play a small role in their writing careers.”
The winners of the will be announced on November 13, 2014.

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Meshack Asare wins prestigious Prize for children’s literature

Meshack Asare

Ghanaian Meshack Asare is the winner of this years 2015 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature. The award was announced by World Literature Today, the award-winning magazine of international literature and culture on Friday.
The Neustadt International Prize for Literature awarded every two years recognizes great accomplishments in the world of children’s storytelling. A check for $25,000, a silver medallion, and a certificate will be presented to the laureate at a public ceremony at The University of Oklahoma.
Asare continues to prove that there are still areas sorely lacking in “first black” as he is the first African winner of the prize. Born in Ghana and currently living in Germany, He is considered one of Africa’s most influential children’s authors. The text that won him the big payday was the multiple award-winning picture book Kwajo and the Brassman’s Secret, an Ashanti tale about wisdom versus the temptation of riches, distributed by African Books Collective.
What did Meshack Asare have to say about the big win? “It is such a privilege, honor, and delight to receive the distinguished NSK Neustadt Prize for my modest contribution as an African, towards Children’s Literature.” Good for him. If I was the prize winner I would have probably said something illuminating like “drinks is on me mitches!!!” Which is why you won’t be seeing me win any prizes any time soon.
The NSK juror who nominated Asare, Nii Ayikwei Parkes, who we are quite familiar with in this blog will be attending the Neustadt Festival at the University of Oklahoma next fall.
Previous winners of the award include Mildred D. Taylor (2003), Brian Doyle (2005), Katherine Paterson (2007), Vera B. Williams (2009), Virginia Euwer Wolff (2011) and Naomi Shihab Nye (2013).

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Golden Baobab Prize for Literature 2014 call for submissions

The children’s literature prize for Africa known as the Golden Baobab Awards 2014 are calling for your work.

The Golden Baobab Awards for Literature were established in 2008 as annual pan-African awards to recognize and celebrate excellence in stories targeting African children. Founded by Deborah Ahenkorah the awards the awards are the Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Book, the Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Book, and the Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Writers.

The Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Book : This prize is awarded annually to the most captivating unpublished African manuscript for a picture book targeting readers aged 6 – 8 years old. Submissions should be between 700 and 2,000 words in length. The Golden Baobab Prize package includes an award of $5,000 (USD), the opportunity to publish with and receive royalties from Golden Baobab and/or Golden Baobab’s top tier African and international publishing partners, the benefit of increased publicity that comes with being named a Golden Baobab Prize winner, and the opportunity to attend a Golden Baobab award ceremony.

Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books: This prize is awarded annually to the most captivating unpublished African manuscript for an early chapter book targeting readers aged 9 -11 years old. Submissions should be between 5,000 and 10,000 words. The Golden Baobab Prize package includes an award of $5,000 (USD), the opportunity to publish with and receive royalties from Golden Baobab and/or Golden Baobab’s top tier African and international publishing partners.

Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Writers

This prize is awarded annually to a young African author under the age of 18 who demonstrates the talent and drive to become the next great African author for children. Entrants must submit a Rising Writer Personal Profile and an unpublished story that meets the Early Chapter Book Prize requirements (5,000 – 10,000 words intended for readers from ages 9-11 years). In addition to these, entrants who wish to do so may submit 4 more stories. These additional stories can meet either the Picture Book Prize requirements or the Early Chapter Book Prize requirements. It is not compulsory to submit additional stories but they may strengthen an entrant’s candidacy. Please note that entrants below age 18 who submit stories but do not submit a Rising Writer Personal Profile will only be considered for the individual book prize category in which their submissions fall, and will not be considered for the Rising Writer Prize. The winner of this prize will receive $2,500 (USD), the benefit of increased publicity that comes with being named a Golden Baobab Prize winner and mentorship opportunities.

For those who wish to take part the submission deadline for this years awards is Sunday, June 29, 2014.

For more information on the awards please visit the Golden Baobab official website.

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2013 Golden Baobab Prize Winners Announced

The Golden Baobab prize is meant to encourage African literary content by African writers and illustrators for African children. The winners of the Golden Prize 2013 were announced on the 13th November and included writers and illustrators from South Africa. The winners were;

  • Picture Books – Liza Esterhuyse (South Africa) for The Little Hippo.
  • Early Chapter Books – Karen Hurt (South Africa) for What’s Going on at 179 Jabulani Street?
  • Rising Writers – Kanengo Rebecca Diallo (Tanzania) for Pieces of Africa.
    Rising Writers is given to a young writer who is 18 years and below who shows exceptional literary promise.

The prize shortlist initially had Kenyan Carol Gachiengo in the Picture book category for Grandma Mimo’s Breakfast but unfortunately the prize went to South African Liza.

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Golden Baobab Prize for Children’s Literature 2013

The fifth annual Golden Baobab Prize, a literary award that invites entries of unpublished African-inspired stories written for young audiences below the age of twelve is here. The mission of the Golden Baobab Prize is to inspire African writers to create enthralling African stories that will inspire the imaginations of generations of African children. Your stellar contributions to the genre have already begun a legacy in African literature we hope to sustain.Your stellar contributions in the past have helped us to find some of the most promising stories, beginning this great legacy in African children’s literature.

This year, Golden Baobab will award three prizes:

· The Picture Book Prize awards $1,000 to the best story written for readers aged 6-8;

· The Early Chapter Book Prize awards $1,000 to the best story written for readers aged 9-11;

· The Rising Writer Prize awards $1,000 to the most promising young writer below the age of 18.

This year’s prize packages include a publishing deal and opportunities to attend exclusive Golden Baobab writers’ workshops. Additional rules and regulations can be found on our website. Please note that the Golden Baobab Prize is open to African citizens of all ages. Deadline for submission is July 14, 2013. We highly encourage entrants to submit their stories early. Golden Baobab seeks to ensure that in the next ten years young Africans everywhere will have access to excellent quality literature that they can relate to. Friends, the stories you have reviewed and shortlisted in the past are a testament to the bright future of African children’s literature. Let’s sustain this future. We invite you and the many writers you mentor to submit their stories early.

How can you get involved?
1. Forward this email on to interested persons, organisations or other writers you may know.
2. Encourage eligible persons (i.e. African citizens of all ages) in your networks to write and submit their stories.
3. Print out and put up our catchy poster in your workplaces, social centers etc. (http://bit.ly/1100GFq). It should only take a minute!
4. Write a story yourself! You can find our rules and regulations here -http://bit.ly/155hlfh