Caine prize won by Tope Folarin
Liz BuryThe Guardian
Caine prize won by Tope Folarin's 'utterly compelling' short story
US-based author says he is delighted by award's 'seal of approval' for his Nigerian-American fiction
Nigerian writer Tope Folarin has scooped the Caine Prize for African Writing for his "utterly compelling" short story Miracle [PDF], set among Nigerian expatriates living in the US.
"I'm elated. I'm a writer situated in the Nigerian disapora, and the Caine prize means a lot – it feels like I'm connected to a long tradition of African writers. The Caine prize is broadening its definition and scope. I consider myself Nigerian and American, both identities are integral to who I am. To win … feels like a seal of approval," Folarin said.
Folarin is the first writer based outside Africa to win the £10,000 prize; he was born and raised in the US, spent a year in Nigeria and six months in Cape Town, but has mostly lived in the UK and US, and is now based in Washington DC.
Read full article here.
See also: http://www.caineprize.com/.