By Japhet Alakam &Prisca Sam Duru

AFTER many months of waiting, the eventual winner of the 2015 and third edition Etisalat Prize for Literature will be unveiled at the glamorous award ceremony scheduled to hold on Saturday, March 19, 2016 at the prestigious Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island . It is going to be a three-way literary battle between The Story of Anna P, as Told by Herself by South Africa’s Penny Busetto,Tram 83 by Democratic Republic of Congo’s Fiston Mwanza Mujila and What Will People Say? by South African, Rehana Rossouw on who will win Africa’s most prestigious literature Prize.

This year’s Award Ceremony will embody the theme Representing the Diversity of African Voices by showcasing the richness of Africa and how our diversity converges into one unique voice of the continent. It promises to be an exciting event with performances ranging from poetry, monologues and musical performances by Darey and Asa.

Shortlisted writers

Speaking on the build-up to the grand finale, Modupe Thani, Head, Events and Sponsorship, Etisalat Nigeria said that already several activities have been lined up to bring the three shortlisted writers closer to the African public ahead of the Award Ceremony. According to her, on Tuesday, March 15 the writers were showcased at the 2016 edition of Time of the Writer in University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa where they featured in a panel of literary giants as they had conversations that matter on books and knowledge.

The literary event also featured a presentation of shortlisted books to City of Durban Library by Etisalat Prize for Literature.

Today, the shortlisted writers will also be at the Lagos book reading, as the final precursor to the Award Ceremony which will provide Nigerians with a peep into the minds of the three authors. The winner of the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature will receive £15,000, an engraved Montblanc Meisterstück pen and a high end device. The winner will also attend the Etisalat Fellowship at the University of East Anglia under the mentorship of Giles Foden.