Thirty young Ghanaian writers have received awards for their creative works in fiction, non-fiction and poetry at the Samira Bawumia Literature Prize Awards and Literary Night in Accra.
The awards form part of efforts to identify, nurture and celebrate emerging literary talent, particularly among young and aspiring Ghanaian writers, while providing a platform for their creativity to be recognised and their contributions to the country's literary landscape celebrated.
Established by the Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Projects, the prize seeks to promote literary development and create opportunities for young writers to develop their talents and share their stories.
The event, held at Alliance Française d’Accra last Friday night, was on the theme: "Reimagining Africa: Folktales for the Next Generation."
It featured readings from some of the winning entries by the wife of former Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Hajia Samira Bawumia, which drew applause from an audience that included members of academia and literary enthusiasts.
Our stories
Speaking at the ceremony, Mrs Bawumia, a former Second Lady, urged young writers to use their talents to preserve Ghana's cultural heritage and tell stories that reflected the country's identity, history and experiences.
"If we don't tell our story, who will?" she asked, stressing the need to raise a generation of children who appreciated Ghanaian perspectives, particularly as they encountered literary works from other parts of the world.
She said the prize went beyond recognising excellent writing to creating opportunities for young people to contribute meaningfully to Ghana's creative and literary landscape.
Mrs Bawumia disclosed that all the award winners would have their works published in an anthology, expressing the hope that the initiative would encourage more Ghanaian writers to get their works published. She also highlighted the SEHP's Library in a Box project, which had distributed more than half a million books to schools without libraries across the country to promote reading and learning.
Growing impact
In an address, the Project Assistant of SBLP, Gretel Anobel, said the prize had grown considerably since its inception, attracting more than 3,000 submissions from all 16 regions of the country, compared with 1,629 entries in its maiden edition. She said the initiative had shortlisted 90 writers and published 59 authors in two anthologies, All Ghana a Stage and We Move Ghanaian Dream in Motion.
Ms Anobel added that more than 500 young writers had benefited from training workshops organised under the project to strengthen their writing skills and creative abilities. She said the growth of the initiative had been supported by partnerships with institutions and organisations, including Bukpress Publications, which had supported the prize since its inception in 2021, Alliance Française d’Accra, New York University Accra and the University of Media, Arts and Communication.
She said the organisers intended to deepen partnerships across the literary and creative sectors to expand opportunities for emerging writers and create pathways for their works to reach wider audiences.
