Olufemi Terry Wins 2010 Caine Prize

Posted on: Monday, July 05, 2010

News Category: 'Uncategorized'

Sierra Leone's Olufemi Terry has won the 2010 Caine Prize for African Writing, described as Africa's leading literary award for short story fiction, for 'Stickfighting Days' from Chimurenga vol 12/13, Cape Town. The Chair of Judges, The Economist's Literary Editor Fiammetta Rocco, announced Olufemi as the winner of the £10,000 prize at a dinner held on Monday 5 July at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

Fiammetta Rocco said ‘ambitious, brave and hugely imaginative, Olufemi Terry's “Stickfighting Days” presents a heroic culture that is Homeric in its scale and conception. The execution of this story is so tight and the presentation so cinematic, it confirms Olufemi Terry as a talent with an enormous future.’

Read Olufemi Terry's 'Stickfighting Days' here.

Wasafiri writer, Lily Mabura's short story, 'How Shall We Kill the Bishop', published in issue 53 (Spring 2008) was shortlisted for this year’s prize. For a limited period you can also read Lily’s short story here.

Also shortlisted were:

Ken Barris (South Africa) ‘The Life of Worm’ from New Writing from Africa 2009, published by Johnson and King James Books, Cape Town
Namwali Serpell (Zambia) ‘Muzungu’ from The Best American Short Stories 2009, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston MA
Alex Smith (South Africa) ‘Soulmates’ from New Writing from Africa 2009 (as above).

Previous Caine Prize winners and nominees published by Wasafiri include Segun Afolabi, Brian Chikwava, Mukoma wa Ngugi and Uzor Maxim Uzoatu.

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