Not Trending: Nigeria’s generous new literature prize boosts African writers

Here’s a story that isn’t dominating the headlines, but deserves a close look: Three African authors are nominated for a relatively new fiction literature prize, and the finalist will walk away with £15,000 and a continental book tour. The Etisalat Prize for Literature is funded by Dubai-based Etisalat, a prominent telecom company in Africa, with the goal of “improving literacy in the African continent.”

The shortlisted writers and their works are Nadia Davids, An Imperfect Blessing published by Random House Struik-Umuzi; Chinelo Okparanta, Happiness Like Water published by Granta Publication and Songeziwe Mahlangu, Penumbra published by Kwela Books, Imprint of NB Publishers.

Tonight, Ozy.com CEO Carlos Watson sits down with Gwen Ifill to discuss stories that aren’t on every frontpage, but just might warrant more attention in our new segment titled: Not Trending.