By  Japhet Alakam

After a rigorous search by the esteemed panel of judges of the 2015 edition of the Etisalat Prize for Literature, made up of Professor Ato Quayson, Molara Wood and Zukiswa Wanner Africa, the men were finally separated from the boys in the chase for one of Africa’s most prestigious literary prizes.

The shortlist from where the likely winner will emerge are: Democratic Republic of Congo’s Fiston Mwanza Mujila with his book, Tram 83 and the South African duo of Penny Busetto – The Story of Anna P, as Told by Herself, and Rehana Rossouw, What Will People Say? Of the three, many African literary experts will be happy with the selection of Mujila’s book, for this is the first time a translated fiction will ever be included in the longlist or shortlist of the pan-African prize. Maybe next time, we might have a book in Arabic on the list.

Commenting on the Shortlist, Chair of the judging panel, Professor Ato Quayson, Professor of English and inaugural Director of the Centre for Diaspora Studies at the University of Toronto said the variety of styles and subject matter of the books on this year’s Etisalat Prize for Literature shortlist reveal the vitality of contemporary African literature. “They contribute to our understanding of what it is to love, to laugh, to improvise, sometimes to despair, to know and yet be fooled by the assurance of such knowledge, to work for our ablution in the fate of another’s suffering, and ultimately to embrace life in all its bewildering complexities,” he said.

On her part, Zukiswa Wanner Wanner author of Men of the South and London Cape Town Jo’ burg said that this year’s shortlist showcases the varied voices emerging on the African literary scene, bringing something beautiful and unique to the reading experience.

Another member of the panel, Molara Wood pointed out that the shortlisted books challenge ready notions about new writing from Africa. “They expand the field of literary engagement with themes of nationhood and the self. These are highly original voices whose works will charm and astonish new readers, through the Etisalat Prize for Literature, and deservedly so,” she concluded.

As we draw closer and closer to the announcement of the winner, one can’t help but observe the domination of the elite pan-African prize by South African writers, with six of them making the Longlist. They include The Story of Anna P, as Told by Herself by Penny Busetto; What About Meera by Z P Dala; By Any Means by Kurt Ellis, Shadow Self by Paula Marais, The Reactive by Masande Ntshanga, and What Will People Say? by Rehana Rossouwand. This is a major improvement from the last edition when the country had three writers,  where one of them Davids, made the shortlist.

Like South Africa, Nigeria also had three of its young writers in the 2014 longlist, with Okparanta in the shortlist, but it was no so this year as no Nigerian author made the shortlist this time, as only two of them managed to make the longlist.

Though no Nigerian has won the prize, there were high hopes that one of the Nigerians, 29-year old Obioma’s  The Fishermen would at least make the shortlist. Such hopes, tinged with patriotic fevours, were hinged on the rave reviews received by The Fishermen written by the 29-year old Obioma, an Assistant Professor of literature and creative writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, who has been described as the next Chinua Achebe.

With the announcement of the winner coming up early next year, it is tough reading the minds of the eminent judges, but that only heightens the excitement. They must be scratching their heads at the moment, for the books on the shortlist are indeed great works of literature.

For instance, Fiston Mwanza Mujila’s novel, Tram 83, was a French Voices 2014 grant recipient and won the Grand Prix du Premier Roman des SGDL. It was also shortlisted for numerous other awards, including the Prix du Monde. Tram 83 has drawn comparisons to Fitzgerald, Céline, García Márquez, Hunter S. Thompson and even a painting by Hyeronimous Bosch or a piece by Coltrane.

Tram 83 is the story of Requiem, a gangster rapidly gaining power and influence in a fictional, dystopian African city and his friend, Lucien, a writer who visits him and is sucked into Requiem’s corrupt empire and the city’s outrageously extravagant, filthy-glamorous nightlife. The title refers to Tram 83, a nightclub where wealthy tourists, gangsters, miners, and prostitutes (ranging in age from 12 to “ageless”) go every night, all night.

Born in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1981, Mujila studied Literature and Human Sciences at Lubumbashi University. He now lives in Graz, Austria and is pursuing a PhD in Romance Languages.

The Story of Anna P, as Told by Herself by Penny Busetto is set principally on the island of Ponza, off the Italian mainland, but has a haunting South African backstory that edges into the narrative about a fifth of the way in. The fictional novel won the 2013 European Union Literary Award as well as the 2014 University of Johannesburg Debut Prize.

Born in Durban, South Africa, Busetto grew up in Cape Town, but moved to Italy when she was 17, where she studied and married. Last, but not least on the Shortlist is Rehana Rossouw’s What Will People Say?, a story of the Fourie family, residents of Hanover Park in the Cape Flats during the height of the struggle era.

Established in 2013 to celebrate contemporary African fiction, the Etisalat Prize for Literature awards £15,000 prize money to the best debut fiction writer. This year’s shortlisted writers will be rewarded with a sponsored multi-city book tour and will also have 1,000 copies of their books purchased by Etisalat for distribution to schools, libraries and book clubs across the Continent.

The winner of the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature will be announced in March and will also receive an engraved Montblanc Meisterstück pen. The Prize also includes an Etisalat sponsored fellowship at the University of East Anglia, mentored by Professor Giles Foden, author of The Last King of Scotland.