Monday, July 16, 2007
Press Release: Iroko Productions LLC Announces Shortlisted Candidates for 2nd Olaudah Equiano Prize for Fiction
Press Release: Iroko Productions LLC Announces Shortlisted Candidates for 2nd Olaudah Equiano Prize for Fiction
Bay Shore, NY – July 16, 2007 - Iroko Productions LLC today announces the following as shortlisted candidates for the 2nd Olaudah Equiano Prize for Fiction:
1.) Ken N. Kamoche for his story "A Glimpse of Life".
2.) Afam Ake for "The Denial"
3.) Unoma Azuah for "Sirens"
4.) Biko Agozino (Okib Oniz) for "Hurricane Madonna"
5.) Chibo Onyeji for "Escapegoat"
The winner will be announced on Monday, July 23, 2007. Olaudah Equiano Prize for Fiction is an annual prize open to Africans living abroad. The first prize of $1000 is awarded to an original and unpublished short story between 3000 and 10000 words that centers on the experience of Africans living abroad. The second prize of $300 is endowed by Dr. Chuma Osakwe in the name of his late father, Chief S. B. C. Osakwe. A third prize of $100 is also awarded.
All stories will be considered for publication in an anthology devoted to new voices of Africans abroad.
The judges for this year's competition are Okey Ndibe, Wale Adebanwi, and Obiwu.
Okey Ndibe will join the faculty at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, in the fall. He is the author of Arrows of Rain. Ndibe is also a columnist for Nigeria's Sun newspaper.
Wale Adebanwi, until recently, a lecturer in political science (University of Ibadan), is currently a Bill and Melinda Gates Scholar at Cambridge University, England. He is a writer and literary critic.
Obiwu is director of the Writing Center at Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio. A writer and comparative literary theorist, his work includes “The History of Nigerian Literature, 1772-2006” (2006) and the forthcoming anthology of stories, Biafran Babies.
In inaugurating the Olaudah Equiano Prize, Rudolf Okonkwo, the CEO of Iroko Productions, noted that "as more and more Africans immigrate, Africa loses some of its finest minds. While abroad, the struggle for survival often overshadows the utilization of the potentials in these Africans. Their talents and expected contributions to humanity suffer as a consequence. This competition is an effort aimed at encouraging talented Africans abroad to revisit their gifts, reconnect with their dreams, and reassert their unique place in the literary world."
The prize is named after Olaudah Equiano who in 1789 published Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa the African. It became an instant bestseller and had a great impact on the struggle to abolish the slave trade. Equiano's book, which is still widely read around the world, became a pioneer of the slave narrative tradition and earned Equiano the recognition as father of black literature in global letters.
Iroko Productions named the prize after Olaudah Equiano to underscore that "the struggle, survival, and success of Equiano exemplified the best of Africa in the Diaspora." Believing that African geniuses are here with us, Mr. Okonkwo remarked that "Iroko Productions LLC is committed to the search for these gems. When we find them, we intend to nurture and celebrate them. We believe that the continuing production and dissemination of African masterpieces depend on our ability to identify, promote and preserve the African geniuses at home and abroad."
This year's competition received numerous entries from Europe, North America, and Asia. Some of the entries are being considered for inclusion in an anthology to be published by Iroko Productions LLC.
"We are pleased with the response to this prize," Okonkwo said from his base in Bay Shore, New York. "In just two years, it has grown to be a well-respected prize that is inspiring Africans in the Diaspora in their effort to tell our stories. Nothing can be more gratifying.”
Among the five shortlisted candidates are established as well as emerging writers.
Ken N. Kamoche was born in Kenya. He obtained a doctorate in management at Oxford University on a Rhodes scholarship. He has taught at universities in the UK, Portugal, Thailand, and now Hong Kong. Ken has published four books on management, including Organizational Improvisation, a look at how managers can learn from jazz improvisers. His short stories have appeared in magazines like Ambit, New York Stories, Wasafiri, Kunapipi, etc. His short story collection will be published in 2007. He's also completing a novel.
Afam Akeh is editor of African Writing and former editor of Arts and Books at the Daily Times, Nigeria. He has written poetry, essays, stories, and some reviews for online journals and for the media in the United Kingdom and Nigeria. His new poetry collection, Letter Home (2006), was shortlisted for an Association of Nigerian Authors poetry prize. Letter Home is his second collection, after Stolen Moments (1988). His earlier poetry was a prizewinner at the BBC Arts for Africa Poetry Competition, and some of his poems appear in the BBC-Heinemann anthology for that competition, A Fate of Vultures (1989). Akeh’s poetry has also appeared in Nigerian newspapers and the poetry anthologies, Camouflage (2006), Voices from the Fringe (1988), and Poets in their Youth (1988).
Unoma Azuah teaches composition and creative writing at Lane College, Jackson, Tennessee. She is an MFA graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University,
Richmond, Virginia. She also has an MA in English from Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, both in the US. Her undergraduate degree in English is from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She has received a number of awards for her writings, which include the Hellman/Hammett award, the Leonard Trawick award and the Urban Spectrum award for her debut novel, Sky-High Flames.
Dr Biko Agozino (Okib Oniz) is professor of sociology at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, the oldest historically black college in the US. He is the author of ADAM: Africana Drug-Free Alternative Medicine (2006, Iva Valley), Pan African Issues in Crime and Justice (co-editor, Ashgate, 2004); Counter-Colonial Criminology (London, Pluto Press, 2003); Nigeria: Democratising a Militarised Civil Society (London, CDD, co-author, 2001), and Black Women and the Criminal Justice System (Aldershot, Ashgate, 1997), among other books. He was educated at the University of Calabar (B.Sc., First Class Honours in Sociology); University of Cambridge Law Faculty (MPhil in Criminology), and University of Edinburgh Law Faculty (Ph.D. in Criminology).
Chibo Onyeji was born in Enugu, where he attended St. Bartholomew’s Anglican School. Author of several poetry collections, his short stories, essays, and poems have appeared in journals, anthologies, and online. His short story “The Professor” was shortlised for the 2005 Olaudah Equiano prize. His latest book of poems Flowers, Bread, and Gold appeared in October 2006. Forthcoming from him are two collections of children’s poems in Igbo language Itu Agwa Ka Agu and Amakaekwu, and a collection of childhood short stories, Ikedi. Mr. Onyeji was educated at the University of Sts. Cyril & Methodius, and Texas A&M University. He lives in Ebreichsdorf near Vienna.
The Olaudah Equiano Prize is supported by Ehimen Edokpa of IBG Tax & Accounting LLC.
Contact: rudolf@irokoproductions.com
Phone: 617-697-1733
Bay Shore, NY – July 16, 2007 - Iroko Productions LLC today announces the following as shortlisted candidates for the 2nd Olaudah Equiano Prize for Fiction:
1.) Ken N. Kamoche for his story "A Glimpse of Life".
2.) Afam Ake for "The Denial"
3.) Unoma Azuah for "Sirens"
4.) Biko Agozino (Okib Oniz) for "Hurricane Madonna"
5.) Chibo Onyeji for "Escapegoat"
The winner will be announced on Monday, July 23, 2007. Olaudah Equiano Prize for Fiction is an annual prize open to Africans living abroad. The first prize of $1000 is awarded to an original and unpublished short story between 3000 and 10000 words that centers on the experience of Africans living abroad. The second prize of $300 is endowed by Dr. Chuma Osakwe in the name of his late father, Chief S. B. C. Osakwe. A third prize of $100 is also awarded.
All stories will be considered for publication in an anthology devoted to new voices of Africans abroad.
The judges for this year's competition are Okey Ndibe, Wale Adebanwi, and Obiwu.
Okey Ndibe will join the faculty at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, in the fall. He is the author of Arrows of Rain. Ndibe is also a columnist for Nigeria's Sun newspaper.
Wale Adebanwi, until recently, a lecturer in political science (University of Ibadan), is currently a Bill and Melinda Gates Scholar at Cambridge University, England. He is a writer and literary critic.
Obiwu is director of the Writing Center at Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio. A writer and comparative literary theorist, his work includes “The History of Nigerian Literature, 1772-2006” (2006) and the forthcoming anthology of stories, Biafran Babies.
In inaugurating the Olaudah Equiano Prize, Rudolf Okonkwo, the CEO of Iroko Productions, noted that "as more and more Africans immigrate, Africa loses some of its finest minds. While abroad, the struggle for survival often overshadows the utilization of the potentials in these Africans. Their talents and expected contributions to humanity suffer as a consequence. This competition is an effort aimed at encouraging talented Africans abroad to revisit their gifts, reconnect with their dreams, and reassert their unique place in the literary world."
The prize is named after Olaudah Equiano who in 1789 published Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa the African. It became an instant bestseller and had a great impact on the struggle to abolish the slave trade. Equiano's book, which is still widely read around the world, became a pioneer of the slave narrative tradition and earned Equiano the recognition as father of black literature in global letters.
Iroko Productions named the prize after Olaudah Equiano to underscore that "the struggle, survival, and success of Equiano exemplified the best of Africa in the Diaspora." Believing that African geniuses are here with us, Mr. Okonkwo remarked that "Iroko Productions LLC is committed to the search for these gems. When we find them, we intend to nurture and celebrate them. We believe that the continuing production and dissemination of African masterpieces depend on our ability to identify, promote and preserve the African geniuses at home and abroad."
This year's competition received numerous entries from Europe, North America, and Asia. Some of the entries are being considered for inclusion in an anthology to be published by Iroko Productions LLC.
"We are pleased with the response to this prize," Okonkwo said from his base in Bay Shore, New York. "In just two years, it has grown to be a well-respected prize that is inspiring Africans in the Diaspora in their effort to tell our stories. Nothing can be more gratifying.”
Among the five shortlisted candidates are established as well as emerging writers.
Ken N. Kamoche was born in Kenya. He obtained a doctorate in management at Oxford University on a Rhodes scholarship. He has taught at universities in the UK, Portugal, Thailand, and now Hong Kong. Ken has published four books on management, including Organizational Improvisation, a look at how managers can learn from jazz improvisers. His short stories have appeared in magazines like Ambit, New York Stories, Wasafiri, Kunapipi, etc. His short story collection will be published in 2007. He's also completing a novel.
Afam Akeh is editor of African Writing and former editor of Arts and Books at the Daily Times, Nigeria. He has written poetry, essays, stories, and some reviews for online journals and for the media in the United Kingdom and Nigeria. His new poetry collection, Letter Home (2006), was shortlisted for an Association of Nigerian Authors poetry prize. Letter Home is his second collection, after Stolen Moments (1988). His earlier poetry was a prizewinner at the BBC Arts for Africa Poetry Competition, and some of his poems appear in the BBC-Heinemann anthology for that competition, A Fate of Vultures (1989). Akeh’s poetry has also appeared in Nigerian newspapers and the poetry anthologies, Camouflage (2006), Voices from the Fringe (1988), and Poets in their Youth (1988).
Unoma Azuah teaches composition and creative writing at Lane College, Jackson, Tennessee. She is an MFA graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University,
Richmond, Virginia. She also has an MA in English from Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, both in the US. Her undergraduate degree in English is from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She has received a number of awards for her writings, which include the Hellman/Hammett award, the Leonard Trawick award and the Urban Spectrum award for her debut novel, Sky-High Flames.
Dr Biko Agozino (Okib Oniz) is professor of sociology at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, the oldest historically black college in the US. He is the author of ADAM: Africana Drug-Free Alternative Medicine (2006, Iva Valley), Pan African Issues in Crime and Justice (co-editor, Ashgate, 2004); Counter-Colonial Criminology (London, Pluto Press, 2003); Nigeria: Democratising a Militarised Civil Society (London, CDD, co-author, 2001), and Black Women and the Criminal Justice System (Aldershot, Ashgate, 1997), among other books. He was educated at the University of Calabar (B.Sc., First Class Honours in Sociology); University of Cambridge Law Faculty (MPhil in Criminology), and University of Edinburgh Law Faculty (Ph.D. in Criminology).
Chibo Onyeji was born in Enugu, where he attended St. Bartholomew’s Anglican School. Author of several poetry collections, his short stories, essays, and poems have appeared in journals, anthologies, and online. His short story “The Professor” was shortlised for the 2005 Olaudah Equiano prize. His latest book of poems Flowers, Bread, and Gold appeared in October 2006. Forthcoming from him are two collections of children’s poems in Igbo language Itu Agwa Ka Agu and Amakaekwu, and a collection of childhood short stories, Ikedi. Mr. Onyeji was educated at the University of Sts. Cyril & Methodius, and Texas A&M University. He lives in Ebreichsdorf near Vienna.
The Olaudah Equiano Prize is supported by Ehimen Edokpa of IBG Tax & Accounting LLC.
Contact: rudolf@irokoproductions.com
Phone: 617-697-1733
# posted by Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo @ 9:39 AM 
