Fareda Banda chairs first all-woman Caine Prize for African Writing judging panel
Fareda Banda, Professor of Law at SOAS University of London, is Chair of the first all-woman judging panel for this year's Caine Prize for African Writing. The Prize is an esteemed annual award that honours outstanding African writers.
The panel consists of Edwige-Renée Dro, writer, literary translator, and literary activist from Côte d'Ivoire; Kadija George Sesay, Sierra Leonean/British scholar and literary activist; Jendella Benson, British-Nigerian author and editor, and Warsan Shire, Somali British writer and poet born in Nairobi and raised in London.
Pictured above: the 2023 Caine Prize judging panel.
Fareda said: "Chairing the 2023 Caine Prize has been one of the highlights of my life. My accomplished, generous, kind, and hardworking fellow judges have been a joy to work with. This is the first all-women selection committee in the history of the prize."
The five shortlisted stories, announced earlier in July, were carefully selected from a pool of 297 entries originating from 28 African countries.
Fareda expressed her thoughts on the shortlist: "Together we have read, discussed and wrestled an eligible submission list of 230 stories down to the final five. This has not been an easy task. The entries showed the depth and scope of writing on the continent and beyond.
The stories spanned generations, genres and themes. They challenged, stimulated, shocked, surprised and delighted us in equal measure. The five shortlisted embrace speculative fiction and artivism (using art as a form of activism). Stories of gender-based violence and reproductive autonomy highlight the power of engaging and original writing. Love is embodied in stories of grandmothers passing on inter-generational wisdom.
The sense of alienation engendered by teenage diasporic liminality sits alongside comedic outrage about the perceived status downgrade in moving from city to village. Each story will have its fans and advocates-we loved them all."
Fareda further noted the fact that four out of the six shortlisted finalists reside in Africa, with two from the diaspora.
The Caine Prize for African Writing celebrates the richness and diversity of African literature and recognises outstanding achievements in African storytelling. The winner of the 2023 Caine Prize will be announced at a ceremony held on Monday 2 October 2023 in London, UK.
Pictured above: the shortlist for the 2023 Caine Prize.
