Brunel International African Poetry Prize is a

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. Ma ...

aimed at the "development, celebration and promotion of poetry from Africa." The prize is sponsored by

Brunel University Brunel University London is a public research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian engineer and pioneer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In June 1 ...

and

Bernardine Evaristo Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo, (born 28 May 1959) is a British author and academic. Her novel ''Girl, Woman, Other'', jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's ''The Testaments'', making her the first woman with Black ...

. In the past it has been partnered by

Commonwealth Writers Commonwealth Writers (established in 2011) is the cultural initiative of the Commonwealth Foundation. It aims to inspire, develop and connect writers across the Commonwealth. Its flagship is a literary award for short stories, the Commonwealth Sh ...

and the African Poetry Book Fund USA. It comes with a £3,000 honorarium. It is aimed at unpublished poets with a manuscript of ten poems. The prize was founded by British-Nigerian writer

in part to help introduce African poets to readers outside of Africa, saying "It became clear to me that poetry from the continent could also do with a prize to draw attention to it and to encourage a new generation of poets who might one day become an international presence." She has managed the prize since 2011.

Winners

*2013

Warsan Shire Warsan Shire (born 1 August 1988) is a British writer, poet, editor and teacher, who was born to Somali parents in Kenya. In 2013 she was awarded the inaugural Brunel University African Poetry Prize, chosen from a shortlist of six candidates o ...

(Somali–British) *2014 Liyou Libsekal (

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

) *2015

Safia Elhillo Safia Elhillo ( ar, صافية الحلو; born December 16, 1990) is a Sudanese-American poet known for her written and spoken poetry. Elhillo received a BA degree from the Gallatin School at New York University and an MFA in poetry from The Ne ...

(

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

) and Nick Makoha (Uganda) joint-winners *2016

Gbenga Adesina Gbenga is a first name or surname among the Yoruba speaking tribe of Nigeria. It means "lift up" or "lift higher". It can also be translated to "Elevate". Gbenga may refer to: *Gbenga Adeboye (1959 – April 2003), Nigerian entertainer *Gbenga Ade ...

(

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

) and Chekwube Danladi (Nigeria) joint-winners *2017

Romeo Oriogun Oluwasegun Romeo Oriogun is a Nigerian poet and essayist. He is the author of ''Sacrament of Bodies'' (University of Nebraska) and three chapbooks. He won the 2017 Brunel University African Poetry Prize and the Nigeria Prize for Literature award 2 ...

(Nigeria) *2018 Hiwot Adilow (Ethiopia),

Theresa Lola Theresa Lola (born 6 May 1994) is a British Nigerian poet and writer. She was joint winner of the 2018 Brunel International African Poetry Prize. In April 2019, she was announced as the 2019 Young People's Laureate for London. Early life The ...

(Nigeria), and

Momtaza Mehri Momtaza Mehri is a Somali-British poet and essayist. In 2017, she received the Outspoken Page Poetry Prize (2017) and in 2018, was named the Young People’s Laureate of London. Biography Momtaza Mehri grew up in the Middle East. She is curren ...

(

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

) joint-winners * 2019 Nadra Mabrouk (Egypt) and Jamila Osman (Somalia) joint-winners * 2020 Rabha Ashry (Egypt)

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Brunel University African Poetry Prize
official website African literary awards British poetry awards 2012 establishments in England Awards established in 2012 Literary awards honoring unpublished books or writers