Desta Haile wins the Afritondo Prize 2021

Desta Haile has been announced as the winner of the Afritondo Short Story Prize 2021. The announcement was made by the judges, Kiprop Kimutai and Edwige Renée Dro, in an online event on Friday, March 26, 2021.

Desta’s winning story, Ethio-Cubano, is a dreamlike patchwork of memories, experiences, and historical instances where Ethiopian and Cuban cultures collide. It will be part of an anthology expected this summer. The anthology will feature all the stories longlisted for this year’s prize.  

Speaking after her announcement as the 2021 winner, Desta said: “This is such a wonderful surprise. It is such an honour. I am really happy that you saw something in [my story].”

“I also want to thank the writers in my family that have always inspired me,” she added.

Desta is a British-Eritrean singer, writer, and educator. In 2020, she won To Speak Europe in Different Languages, a writing competition run by Specimen, Babel Review of Translations, and Asmara-Addis Literary Festival.

Other shortlisted writers for the 2021 prize include Joshua Chizoma (Collector of memories, Nigeria), Remy Ngamije (The prayer, the hope and the anthem [or, the fall so far], Namibia), Faraaz Mahomed (Gracious, South Africa), and Justin Clement (Human cities, Nigeria).

Remy Ngamije, one of the shortlist thanked the Afritondo Team for their work in advancing African literature. He said: “I want to thank Afritondo for having the courage and the know-how to organise this wonderful prize. It is never easy to start a literary endeavour especially where African literature is concerned.”

There is a cash prize of $1000 to the winning author of the Afritondo Prize and $100 to each of the other shortlisted writers.