The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award

Literary award

A literary award is an award presented to an author who has written a particularly lauded piece or body of work. There are awards for forms of writing ranging from poetry to novels. Many awards are also dedicated to a certain genre of fiction or non-fiction writing . There are also awards...

 for the best original short story

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 by an African writer

African literature

African literature refers to literature of and from Africa. As George Joseph notes on the first page of his chapter on African literature in Understanding Contemporary Africa, while the European perception of literature generally refers to written letters, the African concept includes oral...

, whether in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 or elsewhere, published in the English language

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

. The £10,000 prize was founded in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 in 2000, and was named in memory of the late Sir Michael Harris Caine, former Chairman of Booker Group plc

Booker Group

Booker Group plc is the United Kingdom's largest food wholesale operator, offering branded and private-label goods to over 400,000 customers including independent convenience stores, grocers, pubs and restaurants...

. Because of the Caine Prize's connection to the Booker Prize, the award is sometimes called the "African Booker".

History

It was first awarded in 2000

2000 in literature

The year 2000 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* February 13 - Final original Peanuts comic strip is published...

 to the Sudan

Sudan

Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...

ese writer Leila Aboulela

Leila Aboulela

Leila Aboulela , Arabic ليلى ابوالعلا is a Sudanese writer and playwright. She writes in English.- Personal life :Born in 1964 Cairo, Egypt, Aboulela grew up in Khartoum, Sudan, where she attended the Khartoum American School and Sister School...

 for her short story "The Museum", at the Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

 International Book Fair in Harare

Harare

Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...

. In its first year the Prize attracted entries from 20 African countries.

The winner is announced at a dinner in Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

 in July, to which the shortlisted candidates are all invited. This is part of a week of activities for the candidates, including book readings, book signings and press opportunities.

Supporters

The Prize has been supported by friends of Sir Michael Caine in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, USA and Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, the Ernest Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, the Zochonis Foundation, the Marit & Hans Rausing Foundation, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation

Gatsby Charitable Foundation

The Gatsby Charitable Foundation is an endowed grant-making trust, based in London. The organisation is one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts, set up to provide funding for charitable causes. Although the organisation is permitted in its Trust Deed to make general grants within this broad...

, the Headley Trust, the Esmee Fairbairn Charitable Trust

Esmee Fairbairn Charitable Trust

The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is a registered charity founded in England in 1961. It is one of the largest independent grantmaking foundations in England, making grants to organisations which aim to improve the quality of life for people and communities in the UK, both now and in the future.The...

, the David Alliance Family Foundation, the Cairns Charitable Trust, the Botwinick-Wolfensohn Family Foundation, the Sunrise Foundation, the Von Clemm Charitable Trust, the Royal Over-Seas League

Royal Over-Seas League

The Royal Over-Seas League is a non-profit members’ organisation with international headquarters based in its clubhouse in central London, England...

, Sarova Hotels, Bata Shoes

Bata Shoes

Bata Shoes is a large, family owned shoe company based in Bermuda but currently headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, operating 3 business units worldwide – Bata Metro Markets, Bata Emerging Markets and Bata Branded Business. It has a retail presence in over 50 countries and production...

 (Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

) Ltd and (Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

) Ltd and Kenya Airways

Kenya Airways

Kenya Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Kenya Airways, is the flag carrier and largest airline of Kenya. The company was founded in 1977, after the dissolution of East African Airways. The carrier's head office is located in Embakasi, Nairobi, with its main base at Jomo Kenyatta International...

.

The Caine prize is supported by four African winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature acting as patrons: Wole Soyinka

Wole Soyinka

Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Soyinka is a Nigerian writer, poet and playwright. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, where he was recognised as a man "who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence", and became the first African in Africa and...

, Nadine Gordimer

Nadine Gordimer

Nadine Gordimer is a South African writer and political activist. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature when she was recognised as a woman "who through her magnificent epic writing has – in the words of Alfred Nobel – been of very great benefit to humanity".Her writing has long dealt...

, Naguib Mahfouz

Naguib Mahfouz

Naguib Mahfouz was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature. He is regarded as one of the first contemporary writers of Arabic literature, along with Tawfiq el-Hakim, to explore themes of existentialism. He published over 50 novels, over 350 short stories, dozens of movie...

 and J. M. Coetzee. Sir Michael's widow, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne is President of the council and Jonathan Taylor is the chairman.

Critical reception

In 2011, African writer Ikhide R. Ikheloa criticized the prize, suggesting that

"many writers are skewing their written perspectives to fit what they imagine will sell to the West and the judges of the Caine Prize.. The creation of a prize for "African writing" may have created the unintended effect of breeding writers willing to stereotype Africa for glory.. The mostly lazy, predictable stories that made the 2011 shortlist celebrate orthodoxy and mediocrity."

List of winners

Year	Author	Work	Country	Source(s)
2000 2000 in literature The year 2000 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* February 13 - Final original Peanuts comic strip is published...	Leila Aboulela Leila Aboulela Leila Aboulela , Arabic ليلى ابوالعلا is a Sudanese writer and playwright. She writes in English.- Personal life :Born in 1964 Cairo, Egypt, Aboulela grew up in Khartoum, Sudan, where she attended the Khartoum American School and Sister School...	"The Museum"	Sudan
2001 2001 in literature The year 2001 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The film version of J. R. R. Tolkien's classic book, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, is released to movie theaters...	Helon Habila Helon Habila Helon Habila is a Nigerian novelist and poet. He won the Caine Prize for African fiction in 2001, and the Commonwealth Writers Prize in 2003....	"Love Poems"	Nigeria
2002 2002 in literature The year 2002 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*March 16: Authorities in Saudi Arabia arrested and jailed poet Abdul Mohsen Musalam and fired a newspaper editor following the publication of Musalam's poem The Corrupt on Earth that criticized the state's Islamic...	Binyavanga Wainaina Binyavanga Wainaina Binyavanga Wainaina is a Kenyan author, journalist and winner of the Caine Prize.-Early life and education:Binyavanga Wainaina was born in Nakuru in Rift Valley province. He attended Moi Primary School in Nakuru, Mangu High School in Thika, and Lenana School in Nairobi...	"Discovering Home"	Kenya
2003 2003 in literature The year 2003 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Peter Ackroyd - The Clerkenwell Tales*Atsuko Asano - No...	Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor is a Kenyan writer who was educated at Jomo Kenyatta University and the University of Reading. She won the Caine Prize for the story Weight of Whispers, which considers an aristocratic Rwandan refugee in Kenya.-References:...	"Weight of Whispers"	Kenya
2004 2004 in literature The year 2004 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Canada Reads selects Guy Vanderhaeghe's The Last Crossing to be read across the nation....	Brian Chikwava Brian Chikwava Brian Chikwava is an African writer. His short story Seventh Street Alchemy was awarded the 2004 Caine Prize for African Writing and Chikwava became the first Zimbabwean to do so. He has been a Charles Pick fellow at the University of East Anglia, and lives in London...	"Seventh Street Alchemy"	Zimbabwe
2005 2005 in literature The year 2005 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February 25 - Canada Reads selects Rockbound by Frank Parker Day as the novel to be read across the nation....	S. A. Afolabi S. A. Afolabi Segun Afolabi was born in Kaduna, Nigeria, in 1966, the son of a career diplomat. A novelist and short story writer, he won the 2005 Caine Prize for the story "Monday Morning" first published in Wasafiri, issue 41, spring 2004...	"Monday Morning"	Nigeria
2006 2006 in literature The year 2006 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Literature:*Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Half of a Yellow Sun*Chris Adrian - The Children's Hospital *Martin Amis - House of Meetings...	Mary Watson Mary Watson (author) Mary Watson is a South African author who won the Caine Prize in 2006 for her short story "Jungfrau". Watson is the author of Moss, a collection of short stories published in 2004....	"Jungfrau"	South Africa
2007 2007 in literature The year 2007 in literature involves some significant new books.-Events:*November 19 - First Kindle e-book reader released.*December 11 - Terry Pratchett informs fans on-line that he has been diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer's disease.-Literature:...	Monica Arac de Nyeko Monica Arac de Nyeko Monica Arac de Nyeko is a Ugandan writer of short fiction, poetry, and essays. She was educated at Makerere University and the University of Groningen...	"Jambula Tree"	Uganda
2008 2008 in literature The year 2008 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*January 1 - In the 2008 New Year Honours, Hanif Kureishi , Jenny Uglow , Peter Vansittart and Debjani Chatterjee are all rewarded for "services to literature".*June 15 - Gore Vidal, asked in a New York Times...	Henrietta Rose-Innes Henrietta Rose-Innes Henrietta Rose-Innes is a South African novelist and short-story writer. She was the 2008 winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing for her speculative-fiction story "Poison"....	"Poison"	South Africa
2009 2009 in literature The year 2009 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*8 October - Romanian-born German novelist Herta Müller wins the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature....	E. C. Osondu	"Waiting"	Nigeria
2010 2010 in literature The year 2010 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February - The Wheeler Centre, Australia's "literary hub", officially opened.*April 3 - First release of the Apple iPad, electronic book reading device....	Olufemi Terry Olufemi Terry Olufemi Terry is a Sierra Leone-born writer. He won the 2010 Caine Prize for African Writing for his second short story "Stickfighting Days," which was originally published in Vol. 12/13. The judges said he was "a talent with an enormous future"...	"Stickfighting Days Stickfighting Days "Stickfighting Days" is Sierra Leonean writer Olufemi Terry's second short story and the winner of the 2010 Caine Prize for African Writing. It was originally published in the pan-African magazine Chimurenga .... "	Sierra Leone
2011 2011 in literature The year 2011 will involve some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tomas Tranströmer wins the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature.*Jennifer Egan wins the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel A Visit From the Goon Squad.-Literature:*T.C...	NoViolet Bulawayo NoViolet Bulawayo NoViolet Mkha Bulawayo is a Zimbabwean author, and Truman Capote Fellow at Cornell University. She won the 2011 Caine Prize for African Writing for her short story Hitting Budapest about a gang of street children in a Zimbabwean shantytown.-Works:*, Boston Review, November/December 2010-External...	"Hitting Budapest"	Zimbabwe