Three Kenyan Writers On Golden Baobab 2014 Longlist

The Golden Baobab Prizes for African children’s literature have revealed the 14 stories that made it onto their longlist for 2014. Selected from a total of 210 stories received from 13 countries across the continent, this longlist showcases some of the finest African writers and African children’s stories today.

Three Kenyans,  Hillary Molenje Namunyu, Aleya Kassam and Shaleen Keshavjee-Gulam, have made it into the longlist. With four writers each, Ghana and South Africa are the four most represented nationalities on the longlist. Other countries that had writers on the list were Egypt, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. The longlist represents stories submitted to the Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books and the Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books. No story from the Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Writers made it onto the 2014 longlist.

The shortlist for the Golden Baobab Prizes for African literature will be announced on 30^th October, 2014.  The winners for the Golden Baobab Prizes for Literature as well as the winners of Golden Baobab Prizes for Illustrators will be announced on 13^th November, 2014.

Below are the titles and writers on the 2014 longlist:

Early Chapter Book Prize

Ricky Dankwa Ansong (Ghana) – Kweku Ananse: The Tale of the Wolf and the Moon

Jayne Bauling (South Africa) – The Saturday Dress

Mamle Wolo (Ghana) – Flying through Water

Mary Okon Ononokpono (Nigeria) – Talulah the Time Traveller

Bontle Senne (South Africa) – The Monster at Midnight

Hillary Molenje Namunyu (Kenya) – Teddy Mapesa and the Missing Cash

Dina Mousa (Egypt) – The Sunbird and Fatuma

Picture Book Prize

Katherine Graham (South Africa) – The Lemon Tree

Aleya Kassam (Kenya) – The Jacaranda Tree

Kwame Aidoo (Ghana) – The Tale of Busy Body Bee

Mandy Collins (South Africa) – There is a Hyena in my Kitchen

Mike Mware (Zimbabwe) – The Big Ball

Shaleen Keshavjee-Gulam (Kenya) – Malaika’s Magical Kiosk

Portia Dery (Ghana) – Grandma’s List

The Golden Baobab Prizes for literature were established in July 2008 to inspire the creation of enthralling African children’s stories by African writers and are supported by The African Library Project. The organization’s Advisory Board includes renowned authors Ama Ata Aidoo and Maya Ajmera.