Category Archives: Rwanda Literature

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Dayo Ntwari to read at Goethe Kigali

Dayo Ntwari

Dayo Ntwari has been having a great year. The Rwandan writer with the Nigerian connection started his writing year with a shortlist on the Writivism Short Story prize. This was followed with a shortlist for the inaugural Huza Press Short Story Award the first in Rwanda. He is also on the longlist for Short Story Day Africa.

Dayo’s who’s work is starting to appear in various spaces is rapidly building a name the Sci-Fi arena. For those who might want to see the next big thing from Rwanda then I suggest that you make it to the Goethe-Institut in Kigali on Thursday evening (24th September) at 6:30pm. Here you will hear Dayo reading from his story Nomansland which was shortlisted for the Huza Press Short Story Award. Nomansland is a story about an attempt to transition from one world to another.

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Joint winners go home with Rwandan short story competition

Daniel Rafiki, Louise Umutoni-Bower, René J. Nkurunziza, Darla Rudakubana and Richard Ali at the ceremony

We have a winner. Or rather two winners. The winners of the inaugural Huza Press short story competition and they are Darla Rudakubana and Daniel Rafiki.

The two winners of the first Rwandan short story competition that we have ever heard of was announced at the Century Park in Nyarutarama on Saturday. The two share the prize money of US$1,000 and therefore each go home with US$500.

Away from the handing out of the accolades, there were workshops that writers who wanted to get ahead taking place on Saturday September 5th at Innovation Village in Kacyiru . The two were on creative writing by Richard Ali and Ciku Kimeria and literary Journalism by Bwesigye Bwa Mwesigire.

With the award being handed out we now look forward to the anthology from the writers.

 

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Short Story Day Africa 2015 longlist announced

Water Anthology

Short Story Day Africa has announced the longlist of this year’s anthology. The stories from writers from across the continent explored the theme “Water” in interesting and unexpected ways, and both the readers and the SSDA team and editors felt the collection to be exceptional in scope and skill.

The twenty one stories will now be sent to the judging panel: Mary Watson, Billy Kahora and Abubakar Adam Ibrahim.

The shortlist will be announced in October, with the winners announced at the Ake Festival in Nigeria in November. Prizes are sponsored by Worldreader, Books Live, ANT ProHelvetia and All About Writing.

The longlist is interesting in its composition. There is a list of the usual suspects where countries are concerned with a healthy showing from Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria. The name in the South African group that quickly jumps out for me is for Fred Khumalo who wrote Bitches Brew, one of the best books to come out of Mzansi in the last twenty years. With Nigeria, Mary Okon Ononokpono jumps out as she was the winner for the Early Chapter Books at the Golden Baobab Awards last year for Talulah the Time Traveler. In the Kenya group, I quickly note Wairimu Muriithi who was at the Writivism workshop in Dar es Salaam earlier in the year.

Away from the usual countries there have been entries from some of the others. Donald Molosi who wowed us with his play on Philly Lutaaya at Writivism from Botswana is in it. Also in there is Rwandan Dayo Ntwari who has been having a stellar year writing wise. He was a Writivism shortlistee and is currently in the running for the The Huza Press Short Story Award. Then there is Pede Hollist the Sierra Leonian who was shortlisted for the Caine Prize in 2013 and was at last years Caine Prize workshop in Ghana as well as last year’s in Zimbabwe. He is
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Rwandan Anthology Prize by Huza Press awarded this weekend

Its finally here. After many moons, the inaugural Rwandan Anthology known as the The Huza Press Short Story Award will be awarded at a glittering ceremony in Kigali on Saturday at 6pm. September 4 will be a good time to be in the Rwandan capital to see some of the most exciting new writers from the East African country.

Those in the running for the US$1,000 first prize include;

  • Containers by Clarisse Baleja Saidi
  • Nomansland by Dayo Ntwari
  • I am Leaving you Today by Jean-Claude Mihire
  • Come Back Home by Anis Ndayisaba
  • The Little Red Car at the Gusaba by Eva Gara
  • Versus by Daniel Rafiki
  • It’s Me, Just Me by Corneille Mbarubukeye
  • Of Fear and of Guilt by Darla Rudakubana
  • The Girls by Charity Agasaro
  • Impanga by Akaliza Gara

While the winner will be going away with some good cash, the others don’t really go away empty handed. They will be mentored on their stories by some of the biggest names in African literature like Shadreck Chikoti, Juliane Okot Bitek, Jennifer Makumbi and Taiye Selasie.

So there you have it. Those who will be in Kigali should head to the Century Park in Nyarutarama at 6pm this Saturday to check out the action. What action you ask? Literature, music, food and so much more!

Be there or be square (Yes, I went there).

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Rwandan anthology shortlist announced

Clarisse Baleja Saidi

I have been keeping you abreast of an exciting new project coming out of Rwanda. Huza Press a publisher in the country are currently in the process of coming out with a new anthology with stories from the East African country.

The publisher has just announced the shortlist from the longer list of writers in the running for the US$1,000 first prize when a winner is announced later in the year. Those in the shortlist include;

  • Containers by Clarisse Baleja Saidi
  • Nomansland by Dayo Ntwari
  • I am Leaving you Today by Jean-Claude Mihire
  • Come Back Home by Anis Ndayisaba
  • The Little Red Car at the Gusaba by Eva Gara
  • Versus by Daniel Rafiki
  • It’s Me, Just Me by Corneille Mbarubukeye
  • Of Fear and of Guilt by Darla Rudakubana
  • The Girls by Charity Agasaro
  • Impanga by Akaliza Gara

All the best folks

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FT/Oppenheimer Fund Emerging Voices shortlists announced

Scholastique Mukasonga

A few weeks ago I talked about this amazing new opportunity for African creatives from the Oppenheimer fund supported by Financial Times. Oppenheimer for those a conglomerate that made their millions in the diamond times while the Financial Times are a leading media voice from Europe.

The Emerging Voices awards are aimed at various creative disciplines with writers from Africa, artists from Latin America and film makers from Asia. The award worth US$40,000 to the winner announced the longlist for those who would be in the running to win the big prize in November this year. It was a decent cross section of the writers from around the continent.

The shortlist of those who are now in the driving seat for the goodies were recently announced and they are;

  • Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor (Kenya) for Dust published by Granta books
  • Scholastique Mukasonga for Our Lady of the Nile published by Archipelago Books
  • Chigozie Obioma (Nigeria) for The Fishermen published by Pushkin Press

Yvonne isn’t a new name for the reader of this blog with her book Dust wowing everyone including this blogger. Her most recent accolade is a longlist for the Folio Prize making it through to the shortlist only for the prize to go to another worthy writer.

Chigozie Obioma recently appeared on the radar with his appearance on the Man Booker Prize long list. Lastly is Scholastique Mukasonga who is a Rwandan living in France.

We shall keep you posted on how this one ends up.

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Rwanda Anthology longlist announced

Darla Rudakubana

I have been keeping you abreast of an exciting new project coming out of Rwanda. Huza Press a publisher in the country are currently in the process of coming out with a new anthology with stories from the East African country.

The publisher has just announced the writers who are in the running for the US$1,000 first prize when a winner is announced later in the year. Those in the longlist include;

  • The Little Red Car at the Gusaba by Eva Gara
  • Versus by Daniel Rafiki
  • Better the Devil by Daniel Rafiki
  • Containers by Clarisse Baleja Saidi
  • Impanga by Akaliza Gara
  • I am Leaving you Today by Jean-Claude Mihire
  • Come Back Home by Anis Ndayisaba
  • Nomansland by Dayo Ntwari
  • Tau by René Nkurunziza
  • It’s Me, Just Me by Corneille Mbarubukeye
  • Of Fear and of Guilt by Darla Rudakubana
  • The Girls by Charity Agasaro
  • Lasala by Sudi Nshimiyimana
  • 14th Guy by Astrida Uwera

Good luck beautiful ladies and gentlemen.

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Mentors start signing up for Rwanda anthology

Taiye Selasi

A few weeks ago I mentioned that Rwandan writers were asked to submit stories for a new anthology. The deadline came and went and Huza Press, the people behind the project, tell us that they got even more entries than they had anticipated. Success!

Those who submitted their stories and are now in the running  for the US$1,000 first prize have very good news. They mentors they will be working with are some of the biggest names in African literature and include Shadreck Chikoti, Juliane Okot Bitek, Jennifer Makumbi and Taiye Selasie.

We shall be keeping you abreast as more mentors are signed up for this exciting venture.

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Rwandan storytellers sought by Huza Press

Are you a Rwandan? Do you love telling stories? Are you pretty? If the answer to the first two is yes, then Huza press is looking for you. If the answer to the last one is yes I might be looking for you when I come to Rwanda later this year.

Huza Press is looking for short stories, all unpublished work, that will end up in an anthology that comes out later in the year. The best story will get a cash reward of US$1,000 and the best ten will be mentored by some of the best writers on the continent. All of them will participate in regional literary festivals, think Writivism, Storymoja et al.

If this is the kind of thing that rocks your boat, after all what strange person doesn’t want to be mentored by some of the coolest writers around, then I suggest that you contact Huza Press. You can also click on the image on the right. Good luck.

P.S. The deadline for this opportunity is July 10. Chop chop.

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FT / OppenheimerFunds Emerging Voices Award 2015 long list out

A. Igoni Barrett

In February I blogged about these FT / OppenheimerFunds Emerging Voices Awards where writers, film makers and visual artists would be eligible for cash prizes up to US$40,000 and more goodies.

The organisers of the awards covering more than 100 emerging market nations announced have their long lists. The fiction lists have some of our favourite writers in the business from Algeria, Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Rwanda and South Africa. The full long list of names is;

• Blackass by A. Igoni Barrett, Chatto & Windus, Nigeria

• Broken Mirrors: Sinalcol by Elias Khoury, Maclehose Press, Lebanon

• Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, Granta Books, Kenya

• It Might Get Loud by Ingrid Winterbach, Human & Rousseau, South Africa

• Our Lady of the Nile by Scholastique Mukasonga, Archipelago Books, Rwanda

• The Book of Memory by Petina Gappah, Faber & Faber, Zimbabwe

• The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma, Pushkin Press, Nigeria

• The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud, Oneworld Publications, Algeria

• The Texture of Shadows by Mandla Langa, Picador Africa, South Africa

• Women of Karantina by Nael Eltoukhy, The American University in Cairo Press, Egypt

Finalists for each category will be announced on 7 August and winners will be announced at a gala awards ceremony in New York on 5 October.