Shoneyin will be awarded on October 19, 2023, and a dinner will be held in honour of her works and achievements with the Aké Festival at the Frankfurter Buchmesse, Germany.
By Hope Ibiale
The Aficionado board has announced Lola Shoneyin’s Aké Arts and Book Festival as the winner of the 2023 edition of the Aficionado Award. Shoneyin’s Aké Arts and Book Festival was shortlisted alongside The Passenger and Meridian Czernowitz. Shoneyin will be awarded on October 19, 2023, and a dinner will be held in honour of her works and achievements with the Aké Festival at the Frankfurter Buchmesse, Germany.
While speaking about the winning selection, the organisers said, “Over the last decade, Aké has excelled at establishing a sense of community between participating authors while creating important connections with the local audience in Abeokuta, Lagos State. We were delighted when Lola Shoneyin — festival organiser, writer, publisher, cultural entrepreneur — and her Aké Festival were selected as an entirely worthy and apt winner of this first award.”
(Read also: African Writers Awards Unveils Longlist for Its 2023 Edition)
The Aficionado Award is designed to recognise, support and encourage dedicated publishing professionals. The award is a unique cooperation between its founding members; the Aficionado community of international publishing professionals, the Frankfurter Buchmesse, and the Salone Internazionale del Libro di Torino.
Aficionado’s four-man board of directors, Michael Gaeb, Rebecca Servadio, Tom Kraushaar, and Aleksi Siltala selected the shortlist and presented it to attendees at the Torino International Book Fair, who picked the overall winner.
The Aké Arts and Book Festival was founded by Shoneyin in 2012, with the goal of bringing together different writers, poets, musicians, actors, filmmakers, and other creatives to network and celebrate creativity. Now in its eleventh year, the festival has continued to promote creativity and excellence. This year’s edition of the Aké Arts and Book Festival will be held on November 22-25, 2023.