Michela Wrong

The Miles Morland Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2015 Morland Writing Scholarships. The winners each receive a grant of ₤18,000 to allow them to take a year to write a book. This year for the first time MMF gave in addition two non-fiction awards of £27,000 to be paid over a year and a half to allow the scholars time for research. The awards are based on submissions which include a book proposal and an excerpt of published writing.

The winners are:

Fatin Abbas, Sudan (Non-fiction)
Akwaeke Emezi, Nigeria (Fiction)
Karen Jennings, South Africa, (Fiction)
Bolaji Odofin, Nigeria, (Fiction)
Noo Saro-Wiwa, Nigeria, (Non-fiction)

Michela Wrong, the MMF Foundation’s Literary Director commented:

“Women writers began emerging as an unstoppable force a year ago but this year it was a rout. All five scholarships have gone to women, despite the fact that overall there were more male than female applicants. Women dominated both the long list sent to readers and the shortlist that went to the judges. Of the twenty-one writers on the short list nineteen were women.”

Miles Morland, a man, said, “This shows that women are the superior gender but we knew that already, didn’t we?”

Michela continued, “Overall, the Foundation received 345 applications, down from 2014’s 482. The overall number has dropped, but we felt that individual applications were of a higher quality, suggesting that prospective writers now have a better grasp of what the scholarship offers and entails. Many writers are making second attempts, a development we encourage.

“The applications came from across the continent, 23 African countries in all, with Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya dominating as usual. The Judges gave three Scholarships to Nigerians, all very different writers. We were impressed by the explosion of literary energy coming from West Africa. MMF know there is also a wealth of creativity and talent in East Africa and hope that next year that will be reflected in the Scholarships.”

The Judges for this year were three distinguished African literary figures, Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, the Chair, accompanied by Olufemi Terry and Muthoni Garland. Below are Ellah’s comments on the new Scholars –

Fatin Abbas (Sudan) Non-fiction Fatin Abbas’ work will weave together personal narrative and an examination of contemporary Sudanese identity with an account of her country’s history of slavery. In a proposal that stood out for its clarity of thought and careful planning, Abbas impressed the judges with her ambition to transform a personal story into an investigation of colonialism, conflict and the unlikely ties that bind a people together.

Akwaeke Emezi (Nigeria) The Death of Vivek Oji – Fiction Emezi plans a novel in which a mixed race couple mourn the loss of their adult child – found murdered in the market place. What begins as a tale of loss becomes an investigation of sexuality, gender identity and intolerance. The judges praised Emezi’s prose style and her ability to weave narrative and character towards a potentially brilliant work of imagination.

Karen Jennings (South Africa) The Harbour’s Breast – Fiction Jennings’ novel is a story of a lighthouse keeper on an island off the coast of an unnamed African country whose solitary life is changed by the arrival first of an injured man seeking refuge and then the body of a murdered woman that washes up on shore. The judges were struck by Jennings’s proposal to use this story to explore the realities faced by African refugees who risk their lives to seek safety, and of the inhabitants on whose shores they land.

Bolaji Odofin (Nigeria) Ye Gods – Fiction  Odofin will write a novel in which the deities of Nigeria find themselves invaded by a new pantheon and mortals find themselves the pawns in a fight for their souls. The bold ambition of this proposal delighted the judges who were inspired by Odofin’s desire to use humour to comment on Nigeria’s recent history, religion and the confluence of belief systems.

Noo Saro-Wiwa (Nigeria) Non-fiction Saro-Wiwa’s book will focus on the lives of Africans who have chosen to live in China. It will shed light on relations between the Africans in this diaspora and the Chinese. The judges were inspired by Saro-Wiwa’s submission and impressed by her approach to a topic of vast political, economic and social relevance.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Morland Writing Scholarship

The Miles Morland Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 Morland Writing Scholarships. The MMF awards three scholarships every year to African writers selected by a panel of African judges. The winners each receive a grant of ₤18,000 to allow them to take a year to write a book. The awards are based on submissions which include a book proposal and an excerpt of published writing.

The standard this year was exceptionally high. Of 445 submissions received 123 were sent to Morland Readers compared with 76 sent to Readers last year. The Readers selected 22 submissions for the Short List. Because of the difficulty in choosing three winners, the MMF has agreed to award four Writing Scholarships this year with two highly-commended Reserve Scholars who will receive a grant if any of the four Scholars are unable to complete their year.

The winners of the 2014 Miles Morland Foundation Scholarship for African Writers are:

Simone Haysom (South Africa)
Ahmed Khalifa (Egypt)
Ndinda Kioko (Kenya)
Yewande Omotoso (Nigeria-Barbados)

The two Reserve Scholars are:

Fiona Andia Kisia (Kenya)
Elnathan John (Nigeria)

Simone Haysom has published many short pieces of fiction and journalism. This will be her first book. Set in South Africa, it will be a work of non-fiction examining a possible miscarriage of justice following the death by “necklacing” of a suspected thief.
Ahmed Khalifa is only 21. He will write a novel, his first book, about three generations of Egyptians from the 1952 Revolution to the Arab Spring.
Ndinda Kioka is a writer and film-maker whose work has appeared in several literary magazines. Her novel will tell the story of a daughter’s quest to conjure up memories of her dead mother.
Yewande Omotoso published Bomboy, a widely acclaimed first novel in 2011. Her Scholarship book, like Ndinda’s, is a story of loss and a mother’s attempt to come to terms with the death of her daughter.

The Judges, as last year, were three well-known African literary figures:

Ellah Wakatama Allfrey (Chair) from Zimbabwe, the distinguished editor and publisher;
Nadifa Mohamed, the award-winning Somali novelist; and
Olufemi Terry from Sierra Leone, past winner of the Caine Prize.
The five Readers, all of whom are involved in African literature, were Elise Dillsworth, Ted Hodgkinson, Zoe King, Camilla Rankin and Vimbai Shire.

Miles Morland, who sat in with Michela Wrong, the MMF’s Literary Director, as an observer at the judging said:

“I was blown away by the quality of this year’s entries. Everyone in Africa seems to have a story to tell. Our four new Scholars are potentially world-class writers. I’m delighted we have Sarah Simone’s non-fiction proposal among the winners; there is a shortage of good non-fiction by African writers. And it’s good to see the Judges selecting Ahmed, a relatively unknown 21 year-old with the ambition to write a major Egyptian novel.

Ndinda and Yewande are already well-known figures and I’m confident that they will produce outstanding novels. This year’s submissions covered a wide range of topics. If there’s one thing I missed it’s humour. Africa is a place of laughter and good spirits; I’d like to see more of it in the book proposals. Where is the African P G Wodehouse? Next year, I hope. And a big thank you to the Judges under Ellah’s leadership and another one to our brilliant and perceptive Readers.”

Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, chair of the judging panel, said:

“It was encouraging to see the high standard and range of entries this year. My fellow judges and I considered the potential impact of the proposed books, along with the quality of the pieces of published work. We were looking for writers with original stories to tell and for those with distinct styles and a grasp of the chosen form. All four of the Scholars selected show incredible promise. To my mind, these scholarships offer the gift of time, and it is our fervent hope that the year to come will allow the four writers to complete works that can be brought to a wide readership”

The Scholarships were awarded for the first time last year.

The three winners in 2013 Writing Scholarship Awards,

Doreen Baingana from Uganda,
Tony Mochama from Kenya, and
Percy Zvomuya from Zimbabwe, are in the final stages of finishing the books written during the year they have been in receipt of the Scholarships. The MMF looks forward to their being published.

A few facts about the entries. The country of birth of those on the Long List of 123 writers:

South Africa 32,
Nigeria 29,
Kenya 16,
Zimbabwe 16,
Uganda 6,
Ghana 5,
Sierra Leone 3,
Zambia 3.
Of the 22 writers on the Short List, Nigeria and South Africa both had 6, Zimbabwe and Kenya 2. 15 of the Short List were female, 7 male.

In addition to the four new Scholars and two Reserve Scholars named above the following sixteen writers made up the balance of the Short List:

Ayobami Adebayo (Nigeria), Unoma Azuah (Nigeria), Julie Iromanyua (Nigeria), Bolaji Odufin (Nigeria),Kachi Ozumba (Nigeria),
Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond (Ghana), Cheryl Ntumy (Ghana),
Sean Christie (Zimbabwe),Bryony Rheam (Zimbabwe),
Edwidge-Renée Dro (Cote d’Ivoire), Véronique Tadjo (Cote d’Ivoire),
Kurt Ellis (S Africa), Kerstin Hall (S Africa),Andrew Salomon (S Africa), Myolisi Sikupela (S Africa), Joline Young (S Africa).

For further information about the Miles Morland Foundation or the Scholarships please go to Miles Morland Foundation website: www.milesmorlandfoundation.com or call Katherine Ferrier, the Foundation Secretary on +44 20 7349 5030.

Miles Morland Foundation announces 2015 Morland Writing Scholarship Awards WInners.

Winners Announced for the 2014 Miles Morland Foundation Writing Scholarship for African Writers