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Caine Prize 2023: Senegalese writers win for fantasy-horror story about dangers facing girls

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Dark, Language, Gender-related violence, A Small Place, Booker Prize, Hope, Anxiety, African literature, Guilt, Horror, Caine, Man, Assault, Caine Prize, Association, Starless Night, Shame, Strange Horizons, Growth, Environment, Homophobia, Literature, Woman, Nature, Dark Moon Rising, NoViolet Bulawayo, Book, Auction, Film industry, African

The influential Caine Prize for African Writing for 2023 was won by a power couple from Senegal. Their short story A Soul of Small Places (which can be read over here) echoes deeper trends in the country’s literature while picking up on the growth of horror and speculative fiction across the continent. African literature specialist Caroline D. Laurent explains.What’s the Caine Prize and what does winning it mean? The Caine Prize, awarded annually since 2000, acknowledges a short story written in English by an African author.

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The influential Caine Prize for African Writing for 2023 was won by a power couple from Senegal. Their short story A Soul of Small Places (which can be read over here) echoes deeper trends in the country’s literature while picking up on the growth of horror and speculative fiction across the continent. African literature specialist Caroline D. Laurent explains.

What’s the Caine Prize and what does winning it mean?

    • The Caine Prize, awarded annually since 2000, acknowledges a short story written in English by an African author.
    • It’s named in honour of Sir Michael Harris Caine, co-founder of the Man Booker Prize.

Who are this year’s winners?

    • Diallo is a lawyer and feminist activist who, at 15, founded The Association for Keeping Girls in School in Matam, Senegal.
    • Her work served as the inspiration for the winning story, hence the main protagonist’s name, Woppa Diallo.
    • His debut collection Dark Moons Rising on a Starless Night was nominated for two 2019 Splatterpunk Awards.

What’s the story about?

    • Woppa has the task of protecting her younger sister Awa on their way to school.
    • Indeed, girls going to school are often the prey of men who sexually assault them and force them into early marriages.

Why’s it so good?

    • The power of literature to focus on individuals and their personal experiences lends a human face to an unresolved social issue.
    • References to different gods and spirits also highlight the environment in which Woppa and her family live.
    • However, this short story can also resonate with the fears experienced by young girls and women globally.

What does this say about Senegalese fiction?

    • The choice to write in English works to dismantle the neocolonial use of languages based on one’s origin and the colonial past of one’s country.
    • The Kiswahili Prize for African Literature, where authors write in African languages, complements the Caine Prize.
    • Senegalese literature plays a vital role in encouraging people to read, reflect upon and engage with significant matters in the country.