Nigerian writer, Jowhor Ile, is the official winner of the 2016 edition of Etisalat Prize for Literature. Etisalat prize for literature is the most prestigious literature prize for first-time fiction writers of African origin.
He won the prize for his novel And After Many Days. Ile was announced the winner at a prize presentation ceremony which held on the 20th of May 2017, at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. He received a whopping prize money of £15,000 and an engraved Montblanc Meisterstück pen plus other rewards.
Multiple award-winning novelist and poet, Helon Habila while congratulating the winner and the runners-up (Julie Iromuanya, Nigerian author of the book, Mr & Mrs Doctor and South African, Jacqui L’Ange, author of The Seed Thief), disclosed that the prize-winning book met the required standards of originality, creative excellence and African sensibility, in keeping with the objective of the Etisalat Prize, which is to promote literary excellence in Africa.
Etisalat’s Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria, Matthew Willsher, congratulated the winner and the runners-up said,
“From the outset, our vision at Etisalat has been to support innovation, creativity and talent development. This is why we have stayed focused on creating platforms that enable people, not only to communicate and stay in touch with one another, but also to express their individual creative abilities in all forms of science and arts”.
In addition to the prize money, Ile also received an Etisalat-sponsored fellowship at the University of East Anglia where he will be mentored by Professor Giles Foden, author of ‘The Last King of Scotland’. He and the two runners-up will participate in a multi-city book tour of three African countries also sponsored by Etisalat Nigeria. Furthermore, Etisalat will purchase 1,000 copies of their books for distribution to schools, libraries and book clubs across Africa.
Wow! What are you waiting for? Get to writing now.