10th December, 2018
Uganda’s Harriet Anena and Nigeria’s Professor Tanure Ojaide were joint winners of the 2018 Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature.
Anena was the first Ugandan to have won the biennial award meant for writers.
There were a total of 110 submissions from 11 nations in Africa.
Two works of poetry stood out this year, the Ugandan and the Nigerian.
After being announced joint-winner of the 2018 Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa on Sunday, Anena was delighted at her achievement and later tweeted saying she was “super happy”.
Her work of literary brilliance, ‘A Nation in Labour,’ originally published in 2015, saw her share the top prize with Nigerian poet, Prof. Tanure Ojaide, for his piece ‘Songs of Myself.’
For his extensive work in the world of literature, the Lumina Foundation established the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa in honour of the revered Nigerian writer.
Every two years, the prize, worth $10,000 is awarded to the best literary work produced by an African.
And for the first time since its inception in 2005, a Ugandan – in the form of Anena – has won it.
The only other time the prize has been shared was in 2010, when South African Kopano Matlwa (Coconut) and Nigerian Wale Okediran (Tenants of The House) emerged joint winners, New Vision reports.