Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Adichie makes the John Llewellyn Prize shortlist

Chimamanda Adichie's Purple Hibiscus has been shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Prize for "fine young writers early in their careers from biographers, novelists and historians to travel writers, dramatists and poets " The other shortlisted books are:

Neil Bennun The Broken String Viking (British) (non-fiction / history)
Anthony Cartwright The Afterglow Tindal Street Press (British) (Novel)
Colin McAdam Some Great Thing Jonathan Cape (Canadian) (Novel)
Rory Stewart The Places In Between Picador (British) (Travel)
Jonathan Trigell Boy A Serpent’s Tail (British) (Novel)

I remember e-mailing to congratulate Hari Kunzru (author of the Impressionist and Transmission) last year when he won the prize but in a stinging rebuff turned it down because the prize was sponsored by the Mail on Sunday, an English tabloid which had in his words " consistently pursued an editorial policy of vilifying and demonising refugees and asylum-seekers, and throughout their political and social coverage there is a pervasive atmosphere of hostility towards black and Asian British people" The full speech is here...
http://www.harikunzru.com/hari/jlr.htm

Thankfully the prize is no longer sponsored by the Mail and so Ms Adichie can hopefully look forward to the award ceremony on the 1st of December in London without worrying that she is selling out......

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