News from Penguin South Africa

Lest we forget, the Penguin Prize for African Writing Winners were announced on September 4, 2010.

A Nigerian and Zambian won the two prizes for non-fiction and fiction.

The following is the report from Penguin South Africa.

“We were overwhelmed by the number of entries for these two awards and, after hearing from
the judges and readers who read the submissions, encouraged by the writing talent
coming out of our continent. Congratulations to the two worthy winners.”
Alison Lowry, CEO, Penguin Books South Africa




NON-FICTION
Pius Adesanmi - You’re Not a Country, Africa!



In this groundbreaking collection of essays Pius Adesanmi tries to unravel what it is that Africa means to him as an African, and by extension to all those who inhabit this continent of extremes. This is a question that exercised some of the continent’s finest minds in the twentieth century, but which pan-Africanism, Negritude, nationalism, decolonisation and all the other projects through which Africans sought to restore their humanity ultimately failed to answer. Crisscrossing the continent, Adesanmi engages with the enigma that is Africa in an attempt to make meaning of this question for all twenty-first century Africans.
AUTHOR INFORMATION:
Pius Adesanmi was born in Nigeria but now lives in Ottowa, Canada.

FICTION
Ellen Banda-Aaku - Patchwork




Destined from birth to inhabit two very different worlds – that of her father, the wealthy Joseph Sakavungo, and that of her mother, his mistress – this emotive tale takes us to the heart of a young girl’s attempts to come to terms with her own identity and fashion a future for herself from the patchwork of the life she was born into. Beautifully constructed, warm and wise, this is a novel that will transport the reader to a world in which we can all become more of the sum of our parts.


AUTHOR INFORMATION:
Ellen Banda-Aaku was born in Zambia and now resides in London, England.

2010-09-15 - The Postmistress Wins 2010 Exclusive Books Boeke Fiction Prize - Readers' Choice

2010-09-09 - Melly, Mrs Ho And Me.

2010-09-08 - Damon Galgut's In A Strange Room Shortlisted For The 2010 Man Booker Prize

2010-09-06 - Penguin Prize For African Writing Winners Announced

2010-08-27 - Cooked In Africa - Finalist For A 2010 Loerie Award

2010-08-19 - Penguin Books South Africa - Best Trade Publisher Of The Year

2010-08-18 - 2010 Booksellers’ Choice Award - Spud Learning To Fly

2010-07-28 - 2010 Man Booker - Long-list

2010-07-23 - Little Ice Cream Boy - Shortlisted For The 2010 M-net Literary Award

2010-07-15 - Why Africa Is Poor

2010-07-07 - Penguin Books South Africa Announces Penguin Prize For African Writing Shortlist

2010-07-06 - Tooth And Nailed

2010-06-25 - Diary Of A Wimpy Kid Series