Africa-Press – Lesotho. Entries for the second edition of the annual Mulher Forte African Literature Awards are open. Receipt of entries commences on June 1 and will close on July 31.
The host company, Mulher Forte African Literature Awards PTY Ltd, is a Botswana company that deals with literary translating, consulting and publishing; the company’s main aim is to recognize the craft of the authors and give them support.
Semi-finalists for the awards, which also have special categories such as Legendary Award and Reader of the Year Award, will be announced on October 30, 2022. Entries are free, and winners will be awarded certificates of recognition, organisors expect to also hand out an award, sponsorships permitting.
Genres to be competed on are in three categories, with Category A consisting of poetry books, short stories, children’s books, novels and folklore books; Category B consists of Orators, Poetry, Folklore or Fables and Music (traditional and contemporary) while the third category comprises publishers (traditional and self-publishing houses) and illustrators.
“At the present moment we have various companies proposing to sponsor the event but due to the Covid pandemic which limit interaction we shall confirm when they deliver, last year’s sponsors pulled out at the last minute due to the pandemic.
Nevertheless, we completed the awards successfully and are hoping this year we will still pull through. Our platform boasts of thousands of various African writers from more than 25 different countries,” Paula Otukile, the host company’s founder, project manager and coordinator told Life&Style.
Already lined-up entries from Lesotho include Bothata Kennedy Silase’s ‘The Recoil 2: Days of the Haunted Past’ and ‘Tales of a Barren Woman’ authored by Lineo Matlakala – Silase beat his compatriot Matlakala to scoop the inaugural award in the Best Novelist Category last year.
In the publishing category another local, Rethabile Shale, was declared winner for her work on Matlakala’s ‘Tales of a barren woman’ beating South African Sam Nkogatse for publishing ‘The black man in the white people’s yard.
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“The competition brought me more exposure as a writer, I was even featured in the Kenya Times. I was also able to write a collaboration with four other authors from other African countries.
My two books have been called upon by the Gauteng Department of Education for evaluation for Grade 1-12 for books that will be instituted next year, and lastly my two books have called for nomination at the 4th Global African Authors Awards,” shared Silase speaking to Life&Style. The awards are meant to give literature contributors recognition not any form of enrichment, according to Otukile.
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