Golden Baobab Prizes here again
In a statement released in Accra announcing the names of personalities being considered for awards, the Prize Co-ordinator, Delali Kumapley, said this year’s list represented a very strong crop of African writers.
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The Golden Baobab Prizes for literature was 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 The Prizes invite entries of unpublished stories written by African citizens irrespective of age, race or country of origin.
In 2013, to increase its support of the African children’s literature industry, Golden Baobab introduced the brand new Golden Baobab Prizes for African Illustrators.
This prize complements Golden Baobab's efforts in literature by discovering and celebrating Africa’s most exciting artists and illustrators who are creating images to tell stories to children.
With four writers each, Ghana and South Africa are the four most represented nationalities on the list of possible winners. Other countries with writers on the list are Egypt, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. The list represents stories submitted to the Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books and the Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books.
The listed Ghanaians are Ricky Dankwa Ansong (Kweku Ananse: The Tale of the Wolf and the Moon), Mamle Wolo (Flying Through Water), Kwame Aidoo (The Tale of Busy Body Bee) and Portia Dery (Grandma’s List).
Their works were selected from a total of 210 stories received from 13 countries across Africa. According to the Executive Director for Golden Baobab, Deborah Ahenkorah, $20,000 has been dedicated to this year’s prizes.
Golden Baobab officials say stories submitted for awards go through an incredibly exhaustive evaluation process at the hands of the about 30 people from all over Africa and around the world who read and score each story.
