The Noma Award for Publishing in Africa (''French:Le Prix Noma de Publication en Afrique''), which ran from 1980 to 2009, was an annual $10,000 prize for outstanding African writers and scholars who published in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Within four years of its establishment, the prize "had become the major book award in Africa". It was one of the series of

Noma Prize The Noma Prizes were established by Shoichi Noma, or in his honor. More than one award is conventionally identified as the ''Noma Prize''. Noma was the former head of Kodansha, the Japanese publishing and bookselling company. Kodansha is Japan's l ...

s. The prize was established in 1979 by Shoichi Noma (died 1984), president of Kodansha Ltd, the largest publishing house in Japan, to encourage the publication of works by African authors. The award was annual and given to any new book published in three categories: literature, juvenile and scholarly. The award was sponsored by Kodansha Ltd, administered by the quarterly ''

African Book Publishing Record The ''African Book Publishing Record'' is an academic journal covering new and forthcoming African publications, providing full bibliographic and acquisitions data. It covers works of all levels in the African languages, as well as English, French ...

'', and presented under the auspices of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. Books were admissible in any of the languages of Africa, whether

local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

. The award was ended in 2009 after the Noma family ceased its sponsorship.

Winners

*1980: ''

Une Si Longue Lettre ''So Long a Letter'' (french: Une si longue lettre) is a semi-autobiographical epistolary novel originally written in French language, French by the Senegalese writer Mariama Bâ.Rizwana Habib Latha"Feminisms in an African Context: Mariama Bâ's s ...

'' by

Mariama Bâ Mariama Bâ (April 17, 1929 – August 17, 1981) was a Senegalese author and feminist, whose two French-language novels were both translated into more than a dozen languages. Born in Dakar, she was raised a Muslim. Her frustration with the fate ...

*1981: ''Health Education for the Community'' by Felix C. Adi *1982: ''The Brassman’s Secret'' by

Meshack Asare Meshack Asare (born 1945) is a popular African children's author. He was born in Ghana and currently resides in Degenfeld, Germany. On 15 July 2014, he was announced as a finalist for the prestigious international award, the 2015 NSK Neustadt Priz ...

*1983: ''Criminal Procedure in Ghana'' by Austin N.E. Amissah *1984: ''Mesandiki wa Mau Mau Ithaamirio-in'' rison memoirs in Gikuyuby Gakaara wa Wanjau, ''Fools and other stories'' by

Njabulo Ndebele Njabulo Simakahle Ndebele (born 4 July 1948) is an academic and writer of fiction who is the former vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Cape Town (UCT). On November 16, 2012, he was inaugurated as the chancellor of the Univer ...

(Johannesburg:

Ravan Press Ravan Press, established in 1972 by Peter Ralph Randall, Danie van Zyl, and Beyers Naudé, was a South African anti-apartheid publishing house.

) *1985: ''La Trahison de Marianne'' by Bernard Nanga *1986: ''Sobreviver em Tarrafal de Santiago'' oetryby

António Jacinto António Jacinto do Amaral Martins (28 September 1924 – 23 June 1991) was an Angolan poet and politician. He was also known by his pseudonym Orlando Tavora. Biography Jacinto was born in Luanda, Angola, to parents of Portuguese descent. He w ...

*1987: ''Villes de Côte d’Ivoire, 1893–1940'' by Pierre Kipré *1988: ''Working Life. Factoris, Townships, and Popular Culture on the Rand, 1886-1940'' by Luli Callinicos *1989: ''Bones'' by Chenjerai Hove *1990: ''Uprooting Poverty: The South African Challenge'' by Francis Wilson &

Mamphela Ramphele Mamphela Aletta Ramphele (; born 28 December 1947) is a South African politician, an activist against apartheid, a medical doctor, an academic and businesswoman. She was a partner of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, with whom she had two chil ...

*1991: ''Waiting Laughters'' oetryby

Niyi Osundare Niyi Osundare is a leading African poet, dramatist, linguist, and literary critic. Born on March 12, 1947, in Ikere-Ekiti, Nigeria, his poetry is influenced by the oral poetry of his Yoruba culture, which he capaciously hybridizes with other poetic ...

*1992: ''A comme Algériennes'' by Souad Khodja; ''One Day, Long Ago. More Stories from a Shona Childhood'' by Charles Mungoshi, illustrated by Luke Toronga *1993: ''Third World Express'' by

Mongane Wally Serote Mongane Wally Serote (born 8 May 1944) is a South African poet and writer. He became involved in political resistance to the apartheid government by joining the African National Congress (ANC) and in 1969 was arrested and detained for several m ...

*1994: ''A Modern Economic History of Africa. Volume 1: The Nineteenth Century'' (Dakar:

CODESRIA The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) is Pan-African research organisation headquartered in Dakar, Senegal. The current President of CODESRIA is Dzodzi Tsikata. Background CODESRIA was established in 19 ...

, 1993) *1995: ''Triomf'' by

Marlene van Niekerk Marlene van Niekerk (born 10 November 1954) is a South African poet, writer, and academic. She is best known for her novels, the satirical tragicomedy ''Triomf'' (1994) and the Herzog-winning ''Agaat'' (2004), which explore themes including the ...

*1996: ''Destins parallèles'' by Kitia Toure *1997: ''Mfantsipim and the Making of Ghana: A Centenary History, 1876-1976'' by A. Adu Boahen *1998: ''The Politics of Liberation in South Sudan: An Insider's View'' by

Peter Adwok Nyaba Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

*1999: ''L’Interprétation des rêves dans la région sénégambienne. Suivi de la clef des songes de la Sénégambie de l'Egypte pharaonique et de la tradition islamique'' by

Djibril Samb Djibril may refer to: * A form of the given name Gabriel * Djibril Cissé (born 1981), French footballer * Lord Djibril This is a list of fictional characters featured in the Cosmic Era (CE) timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries. These charac ...

. *2000: ''Ufundishaji wa Fasihi: Nadharia na Mbinu'' by

Kimani Njogu Dr. Kimani Njogu is Kenyan linguist known for his role in study and advocacy of Kiswahili language. Life and career Njogu was born in Kericho County. After teaching high school, he pursued further education in Swahili studies, gaining his bach ...

& Rocha Chimera *2001: ''Odun Ifa/Ifa Festival'' by Abosede Emanuel *2002: ''The Arabic Novel: Bibliography and Critical Introduction, 1865-1995'' by Hamdi Sakkut *2003: ''Walter and Albertina Sisulu. In Our Lifetime'' by

Elinor Sisulu Elinor Sisulu (née Batezat; born 9 March 1958) is a South African writer and activist. Biography She was born Elinor Batezat in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe) to Francis Batezat and Betty Stuhardt, who was the daughter of George S ...

*2004: In 2004 the jury decided not to select a winner, but did give four titles Honourable Mention: **''The Cry of Winnie Mandela'' by Njabulo Ndebele **''The Plays of Miracle and Wonder'' by Brett Bailey **''Lanre and the Queen of the Stream'' by Tunde Lawal-Solarin **''A Dictionary of Yoruba Personal Names'' by Adeboye Babalola & Olugboyega Alaba *2005: ''La mémoire amputée'' by

Werewere Liking Werewere Liking (born 1950, in Cameroon) is a writer, playwright and performer based in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. She established the Ki-Yi Mbock theatre troupe in 1980 and founded the Ki-Yi village in 1985 for the artistic education of young pe ...

*2006: ''In a Ribbon of Rhythm'' by

Lebogang Mashile Lebogang Mashile (born 7 February 1979) is a South African actress, writer and performance poet. Biography The daughter of exiled South African parents, Mashile was born in the United States and returned to South Africa in the mid-1990s after th ...

*2007: ''Strife'' by

Shimmer Chinodya Shimmer Chinodya (born 1957 Gwelo, then Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland) is a Zimbabwean novelist. He studied at Mambo Primary School. He was expelled from Goromonzi after demonstrating against Ian Smith's government. He graduated from the ...

*2008: ''Beginnings of a Dream'' by Zachariah Rapola *2009: ''Lawless and Other Stories'' by

Sefi Atta Sefi Atta (born January 1964) is a Nigerian-American novelist, short-story writer, playwright and screenwriter. Her books have been translated into many languages, radio plays have been broadcast by the BBC, and her stage plays have been performe ...

External links

Noma Award Site

References

{{Japanese literary awards African literary awards Japanese literary awards Awards established in 1979 Fiction awards Non-fiction literary awards Children's literary awards Noma Prize

Winners

See also

External links

References