The AKO Caine Prize for African Writing launches New Online Editing Programme
The programme, titled Online with Vimbai, will mentor writers in producing stories eligible for the AKO Caine Prize
London, 5 October 2020 – The AKO Caine Prize for African Writing has launched a new editing programme for three selected writers to receive tailored support and guidance on their short-form writing. The pilot programme launched in September 2020 with Senegalese writer Aminata J Sow and Nigerian writers TJ Benson and Rafeeat Aliyu.
The scheme, Online with Vimbai, was initiated by former Chair of the Prize Dr Delia Jarrett-Macauley. It is led by Vimbai Shire, editor and founder of Beyond White Space Ltd, a publishing services company which provides training, editorial and design expertise and project management to publishers, businesses, institutions and individuals, including the African Writers’ Trust, Canongate Books and Kwani? amongst others.
The new AKO Caine Prize mentoring and editorial coaching programme offers each writer up to 24 hours of one-to-one quality support and guidance online over a twelve-week period. It involves a professional assessment of each short story, discussions around the marketing direction for each piece, and regular feedback from the editor until a final review of the work is carried out to produce writings that are of a publishable standard.
Speaking in a joint statement about the programme, Chair of the AKO Caine Prize Ellah Wakatama OBE and Administrator Dele Fatunla said: “We are very pleased to expand on the Prize’s mission to support and accompany African writers as they find their feet in the publishing industry. Our aim for this programme is to open up access for writers and support them in their journey towards publication.
“Launching the programme with Vimbai Shire, an extremely talented editor, is an honour for us and we look forward to seeing the programme grow in the years to come.”
Vimbai Shire has worked on a range of short-form fiction and non-fiction pieces by distinguished authors including Leila Aboulela, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Brian Chikwava, Aminatta Forna, Billy Kahora, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi and the late Binyavanga Wainaina. Ms Shire has also served two brief terms as acting director of the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2016 and 2018. Most recently, Ms Shire has been involved in a training and mentorship scheme for young publishers entering the industry.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
The AKO Caine Prize for African Writing, awarded annually for African creative writing, is named after the late Sir Michael Caine, former Chairman of Booker plc and Chairman of the Booker Prize management committee for nearly 25 years. Its main sponsor is the AKO Foundation, whose primary focus is the making of grants to projects which promote the arts and improve education.
The Prize is awarded for a short story by an African writer published in English (indicative length 3,000 to 10,000 words). An African writer is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, or who is a national of an African country, or who has a parent who is African by birth or nationality. Works translated into English from other languages are not excluded, provided they have been published in translation, and should such a work win, a proportion of the prize would be awarded to the translator.
The AKO Caine Prize 2020 is principally supported by the AKO Foundation, The Oppenheimer Memorial Trust, The Miles Morland Foundation, The Carnegie Corporation, the Booker Prize Foundation, The Sigrid Rausing Trust, the Royal Over-Seas League, Adam and Victoria Freudenheim and John and Judy Niepold. Other funders and partners include The British Council, Georgetown University (USA), The Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice, The van Agtmael Family Charitable Fund, Rupert and Clare McCammon, Arindam Bhattacherjee, Phillip Ihenacho and other generous donors.
Previous winners are Sudanese Leila Aboulela (2000), Nigerian Helon Habila (2001), Kenyan Binyavanga Wainaina (2002), Kenyan Yvonne Owuor (2003), Zimbabwean Brian Chikwava (2004), Nigerian Segun Afolabi (2005), South African Mary Watson (2006), Ugandan Monica Arac de Nyeko (2007), South African Henrietta Rose-Innes (2008), Nigerian EC Osondu (2009), Sierra Leonean Olufemi Terry (2010), Zimbabwean NoViolet Bulawayo (2011), Nigerian Rotimi Babatunde (2012), Nigerian Tope Folarin (2013), Kenyan Okwiri Oduor (2014), Zambian Namwali Serpell (2015), South African Lidudumalingani (2016), Sudanese writer, Bushra al-Fadil (2017), Kenyan Makena Onjerika (2018), Nigerian Lesley Nneka Arimah (2019) and British-Nigerian Irenosen Okojie (2020).
Vimbai Shire is an independent editor and founder of Beyond White Space Ltd, a London-based publishing services company which provides training, editorial and design expertise and project management to publishers, businesses, institutions and individuals. Clients include Africa Utopia, the African Writers’ Trust, Canongate Books, Granta Magazine, The Indigo Press, Kwani?, Oneworld Publications, Nobrow, Periscope Books, Spread the Word and World Editions.
Currently, alongside selected editorial projects, Vimbai Shire is a mentor and skills coach to nineteen young apprentices who are part of the UK’s first L.3 Publishing Apprenticeship programme, a scheme to which she also provides strategic content development and delivery.
For more information:
Lucy Colomb
lucy@raittorr.co.uk
+44(0)78 58 68 78 39