The Accra International Book Festival has announced its shortlist for two awards today: the 2018 First Book Award and the 2018 Independent Writers Award, with five female contenders and just one male making the finals.
Unusually for an Africa-based award the prize is open to submissions from authors of any nationality, although submissions must be in French or English, and the criteria is that the work
can reshape the mindset of the world.
Whether the books shortlisted can do that, we’ll have to wait and see, but it’s noteworthy that despite the international calling, the finalists are only from Ghana and the USA and all are in English..
That may well be a reflection of the submissions received rather than any bias by the judging panel.
First Book Award
Celestine Nudanu (Ghana)
Haiku Rhapsodies (Verses from Ghana)
Brooke C. Obie (USA)
Book of Addis: Cradled Embers
Independent Writers Award
Ayesha Harunna Attah (Ghana)
The Hundred Wells of Salaga
Ruby Yahyra Goka (Ghana)
In the Middle of Nowhere
Dr Matthew Karikari-Ababio (Ghana)
Dynamics of Persistent Underdevelopment: The Case of Ghana
Brooke C. Obie (USA)
Book of Addis: Cradled Embers
Ruby Yahyra Goka (Ghana)
Perfectly Imperfect
The winner for both categories will be announced on 31 December and a ceremony will be held in Accra in 2019.
The announcement can be found on the Accra International Book Festival site here.
