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Rufaro Samanga
Nov. 20, 2019 05:45AM EST

Brittle Paper Announces its Shortlist for This Year's Awards

Keletso Mopai, Panashe Chigumadzi, Maaza Mengiste and Ope Adedeji are among the 25 writers shortlisted in the five categories of the Brittle Paper Awards.

The shortlist for the prestigious Brittle Paper Awards were announced just yesterday. The awards, which were established back in 2017, aim to recognize the "finest original pieces of writing by Africans published online." This year, 25 pieces have been shortlisted in the five categories of Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Essays and Think Pieces, Poetry and Anniversary. South African writers Panashe Chigumadzi and Keletso Mopai, Nigerian writers Ope Adedeji and Frances Ogamba as well as Kenyan writers Carey Baraka and Tee Ngugi appear on the shortlist. For the very first time, the shortlist was announced via video by industry heavyweights including Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, the Chair of the Caine Prize, Romeo Origun, Sisonke Msimang, Ato Quayson and Ladipo Manyika.

It's always exciting for the African literary community when it's time to acknowledge and reward great works written in a particular year. This year is no different. The Brittle Paper Awards' shortlist boasts a diverse selection of talented writers who've published works deserving of the highest praise.

Here are the 25 writers who have made it onto the shortlist (as announced on social media) as well as the titles of their qualifying works below. You can also read more about the shortlisted candidates on Brittle Paper here.






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For the new collection, Thebe Magugu collaborated with the photographer Kristin-Lee Moolman to create a 1970s-style B movie called Banyoloyi A Bosigo. The short film, which is written, directed and photographed by Moolman, shows the power play between two rival girl gangs named the "ultimate midnite angels" who speak Zulu and Setswana.

The short film begins at the river with an initiation rite, then the sending out of the initiated woman to become a spy. There's also a love affair between two women of rival tribes that warrants a capture. Each scene of the movie introduces the fits to the collection as well as exhibiting the fluidity of the outfits.

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Mdou Moctar Announces Debut Album 'Afrique Victime'

The album is a collaboration between Mdou, his band members and his rhythm guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane.

Matador Records has announced that the eagerly anticipated album Afrique Victime by Mdou Moctar will be released on May 21.

Afrique Victime is an unprecedented collaboration between Mdou, his band members, and Ahmoudou Madassane, who's been his rhythm guitarist since 2008. The album will present an effortless fusion of Saharan and rock music; melding guitar pyrotechnics, full-blast noise, and field recordings with poetic meditations.

You might have come across Mdou on Off White's "Imaginary TV" channel, who designer Virgil Abloh called, "one of my favorite musicians Rn."

Mdou's desert village Agadez, in rural Niger, is his source of inspiration. He attributes his artistic style to traditional Tuareg melodies and YouTube videos of Eddie Van Halen's six string techniques. Mdou has also worked on film projects. He wrote, produced, and starred in the first Tuareg language film: a remake of Purple Rain called Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai– which translates to "Rain The Color Of Blue With A Little Red In It." This earned him approval from his community and popularity across West Africa. This soon led to world tours and albums on the independent US label Sahel Sounds, including 2019's landmark Ilana: The Creator, which earned Mdou an international audience.

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