As the literary prize winner, Njeri will receive a cash prize of £1,000, and Abibiman Publishing UK will publish his manuscript.
By Hope Ibiale
Kenyan writer, Peter Ngila Njeri, has been announced as the winner of the 2023 edition of the James Currey Prize for African Literature for his manuscript, Legend of a Beach House. Nigerian writer and part of this year’s jury, Nneoma Otuegbe, made the announcement at the African Literature Festival in Oxford, UK. As the literary prize winner, Njeri will receive a cash prize of £1,000, and his manuscript will be published by Abibiman Publishing UK.
Njeri also took to his X page to share the achievement, “My novel manuscript, The Legend of Beach House, has won the 2023 James Currey Prize for African Literature! It will be published in the UK by Abibiman Publishing. In the spirit of writers winning together, I’ll share some of the prize money with two of the fellow shortlisted writers.”
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The James Currey Prize for African Literature is an annual award for the best unpublished work of fiction written in English by an African writer. The prize aims to promote and celebrate African voices and stories. The literary award is named after James Currey, a prominent publisher known and acknowledged for his contributions to African literature.
Henry Akubuiro, Nneoma Otuegbe, Tatiana Cassiano, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, Javier Gutierrez Lozano, Debbie Edwards, and Masande Ntshanga judged this year’s edition of the literary prize.