The Golden Baobab Prize facts for kids
The Golden Baobab Prize is a special award given each year to talented African writers. It celebrates amazing stories written for children and teenagers. The prize is for new, unpublished short stories written by African citizens, no matter where they live in the world.
The main goal of the prize is to find and support the next generation of great African storytellers. It helps create classic African stories that kids and families can enjoy for many years. The prize was started in July 2008 and was first called The Baobab Prize.
The Golden Baobab Prize is managed by The Golden Baobab Foundation for Education, a non-profit group in Accra, Ghana. It gets help from other groups like the African Library Project and The Global Fund for Children.
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What are the Prize Categories?
Writers can submit their stories to one of three categories based on the age of the readers:
- Junior Category: For stories aimed at children between 8 and 11 years old.
- Senior Category: For stories written for young teens between 12 and 15 years old.
- Rising Writer Prize: An award for a promising young writer who is 18 years old or younger.
In 2009, the first winners received $800 each. The prize money was later increased to $1000 for the main categories.
Past Winners of the Prize
Here is a list of some of the talented authors who have won the Golden Baobab Prize.
2008/2009 Winners
- Junior Category: Lauri Kubuitsile from Botswana for Lorato and her Wire Car.
- Senior Category: Ivor W. Hartmann from Zimbabwe for Mr. Goop.
- Rising Writer: Aisha Kibwana from Kenya for Strange Visitors that took her life away.
2009/2010 Winners
- Junior Category: Mirirai Moyo from Zimbabwe for Diki, the Little Earthworm.
- Senior Category: Lauri Kubuitsile from Botswana for Mechanic’s Son.
- Rising Writer: Aisha Kibwana from Kenya for Strange Visitors that took her life away.
2010/2011 Winners
- Junior Category: Edyth Bulbring from South Africa for Sour Worms.
- Senior Category: Ken Farnsworth from South Africa for The Rooster.
- Rising Writer: Luc Haasbroek from South Africa for The Dance.
2014 Winner
- Portia Dery became the first person from Ghana to win. She won the picture book prize for her story Grandma's list.
Who Judges the Stories?
A team of experts, including famous authors, professors, and publishers, reads the stories and chooses the winners. Here are some of the judges from past years.
- 2009: Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Kathy Knowles, and Professor Osayimwense Osa.
- 2010: Jay Heale, Nana Ayebia Clarke, Muthoni Garland, Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, Cynthia Pon, and Meshack Asare.
- 2011: Brenda Randolph, Helon Habila, Elinor Sisulu, Meshack Asare, Carol Mitchell, and Tanja Galetti.
- 2012: Yohannes Gebregeorgis, Vivian Yenika-Agbaw, Carol Broomhall, Atinuke Akinyemi Sears, Kopano Matwla, and Tanja Galetti.
- 2013: Esi Sutherland-Addy, Bernardine Evaristo, Osayimwense Osa, Nonikiwe Mashologu, Zetta Elliott, and Annette Hansen.
- 2014: Nonikiwe Mashologu, Paul O. Zelinsky, Summer Edward, Kofi Anyimadu, Nancy Drost, Kanengo Diallo, Doreen Baingana, Akua Peprah, and Kinna Likimani.
- 2016: Nonikiwe Mashologu, Rutendo Chabikwa, Kofi Anyimadu, Daphne Lee, Brenda Randolph, and Lanre Shasore.
- 2018: Carol Williams, Kathy Knowles, Daphne Lee, Akoss Ofori-Mensah, Akua Peprah, and Sarah Odedina.
