Global Centre for Pluralism Announces the 2019 Global Pluralism Award Winners

Deborah Ahenkorah (Ghana), the Center for Social Integrity (Myanmar) and ‘Learning History That Is Not Yet History’ (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia) recognized as outstanding leaders promoting inclusion worldwide

Ottawa, Canada – October 15, 2019 – Today, the Global Centre for Pluralism announced the three winners of the 2019 Global Pluralism Award: Deborah Ahenkorah – a young Ghanaian social entrepreneur and book publisher bringing African children’s stories to life; the Center for Social Integrity - an organization giving youth from conflict-affected regions in Myanmar the skills and voice to be leaders for change amidst the many overlapping conflicts ongoing in the country; and ‘Learning History that is not yet History’ - a network of history educators and specialists in the Balkans pioneering a new approach to teaching the controversial history of conflict.

Meredith Preston McGhie, Secretary General of the Global Centre for Pluralism, said, “The Centre is honoured to be supporting the work of this year’s award winners. Their creative initiatives offer hope that negative trends toward exclusion and division can be reversed. The impact of their work is proof that we can build more richly diverse, peaceful and inclusive societies. These are examples we can all learn from.”

Joe Clark, former Prime Minister of Canada and Chair of the Award Jury, said, “The jury was inspired by the vital work of the award winners and the hundreds of impressive submissions received. They are all deeply committed to equipping the next generation of leaders with the knowledge and empathy to respond to the biggest challenges to pluralism today and in the future.”

The Global Pluralism Award celebrates pluralism in action. As a result of their sustained achievements to promote respect across differences, the Award winners are helping to build more inclusive societies, in which human diversity is valued and thrives.

Award winner, Deborah Ahenkorah said, "I feel incredibly blessed to receive this award and after a decade of work championing the importance of African literature for children, this honour highlights how much closer we are to the goal of placing African children's literature on a deserving global pedestal. I continue to look forward to that day when you can walk into a bookstore anywhere in the world and find incredible African stories available for all."

Deborah Ahenkorah, 2019 Global Pluralism Award Winner.
The Global Pluralism Award celebrates achievement and excellence in the field of pluralism.

Aung Kyaw Moe, Executive Director of the award winner, Center for Social Integrity, said, “This award recognizes that change can come from within, and that what started out as a small-scale local initiative, can become a strong and meaningful movement. It is a great achievement to be able to depict Rohingya people advocating for tolerance and pluralism hand-in-hand with other ethnic and religious peoples. I hope that one day, diversity in Myanmar will not only be accepted but celebrated.”

Bojana Dujkovic, representative of the award winner, the ‘Learning History that is not yet History’ team said, "It is very significant to our team to be receiving international recognition for work we have been developing with minimal support for over 16 years. Dealing with the sensitive history of the 1990s Yugoslav wars in our classrooms is very difficult for teachers. We have personal connections to this topic and many, including this team, have buried the topic for decades. It is now the moment to face the past responsibly and to teach about the 1990s conflicts, in order to build a future of mutual understanding, peace and reconciliation.”

This year, the Global Centre for Pluralism received over 500 applications spanning 74 countries for the 2019 Global Pluralism Awards—more than double the submissions to the inaugural awards in 2017. All nominees undergo a rigorous review and jury selection process.

The Global Centre for Pluralism, founded by His Highness the Aga Khan and the Government of Canada, will recognize the three winners and seven honourable mentions at an award ceremony on November 20, 2019 in Ottawa, Canada. The three winners will each be granted $CAN50,000 and in-kind support to advance their work in promoting pluralism.

Past winners include conflict mediator Alice Nderitu (Kenya), victims’ rights advocate

Leyner Palacios Asprilla (Colombia) and human rights lawyer Daniel Webb (Australia).

About the Global Centre for Pluralism

Founded in Ottawa by His Highness the Aga Khan in partnership with the Government of Canada, the Global Centre for Pluralism is an independent, charitable organization. Inspired by Canada’s experience as a diverse and inclusive country, the Centre was created to advance positive responses to the challenge of living peacefully and productively together in diverse societies.

For further information, please contact:

Calina Ellwand

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

T: +1 613 688-0137

Golden Baobab has announced the awards for the 2018 Golden Baobab Prize. This year marks 10 years since the prestigious pan-African children’s literary award was set up to celebrate and support talented African writers and illustrators. To date the Prize has inspired submissions of over 2,000 new and original African children’s stories and illustrations and offered substantial monetary awards as well as publishing opportunities.

Entering a decade since its establishment, this year’s Golden Baobab Prize presented a specific focus on publishing. This was reflected in the Prize’s jury which was a panel of prominent international publishing and literacy professionals. According to the Golden Baobab Prize administration, the mandate for this year’s jury was to find writers whose manuscripts were publishing ready and versatile illustrators whose styles showed evidence that they could create work for a wide audience of children. After a lengthy deliberation process, the jury announces that the 2018 Golden Baobab Prize will offer multiple awards but no winner. The jury concluded that the top entries of the literature prize were more ready for editorial support and mentorship than they were ready for publication. For the illustrator prize, while there were strong entries the jury did not find illustrations that met this year’s criteria.

The 2018 Golden Baobab Prize jury has selected four stories for the shortlist and awarded them a prize package of editorial support, in addition to connections to publishing opportunities. It has selected for one illustrator for the shortlist commending them for their creative interpretation of the illustration briefs provided. The 2018 Shortlist are:

• The Clock Can’t Jump Through Time by Adeola Adeyemo (Nigeria) for the Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books

• Think Before You Act, Kuku! by Thandazile Sakhile Mpofu (Zimbabwe) for the Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books 

• Keeper of the Gates by David Kwakye (Ghana) for the Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books

• The Era of the Afrocubs by Ayo Oyeku (Nigeria) for the Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books: 

• Elizabeth Jeffery (South Africa) for the Golden Baobab Prize for African Illustrators

Speaking on this announcement, Golden Baobab’s Executive Director, Deborah Osei-Agyekum said: “We support the jury’s decision for the Golden Baobab Prize to announce no winner for 2018 but rather offer awards to multiple entrants. The cash award from this year's Prize will be rolled into future years with an increased focus on publishing. Over the past 10 years, the Golden Baobab Prize has successfully matched talented African writers and illustrators to publishing opportunities for children's books and we are committed to do more. Stories and illustrators from the Golden Baobab Prize have gone on to be published by African Bureau Stories, Penguin Random House South Africa, Oxford University Press, Quramo Publishing and Cassava Republic Press among others."

This year, the Golden Baobab Prize received over 300 new and original stories and illustrations from 17 African countries. Our 2018 Jury, made up of prominent international publishing and literary professionals, went through a rigorous process to evaluate this year’s entries.

Our Longlist for the 2018 Golden Baobab Prize 

We are very happy to unveil our 2018 Longlist which features twelve African children’s authors and illustrators from six countries across the continent. They are:

The Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books

• Adeola Adeyemo, Nigeria - The Clock Can’t Jump Through Time

• Thandazile Sakhile Mpofu, Zimbabwe - Think Before You Act, Kuku!

• Sharon Salu, Nigeria - Koko’s Head

• Marie Pelagie Elimbi Moudio, Cameroon - The Water Festival

The Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books

• Warũgũrũ Mũchĩra, Kenya - Akinyi

• David Kwakye, Ghana - Keeper of the Gates

• Ayo Oyeku, Nigeria - The Era of the Afrocubs

• Lorna Likiza, Kenya - Oi Gets Lost

The Golden Baobab Prize for African Illustrators

• Charles Achibi, Nigeria - twitter.com/charlesachibi

• Precious Narotso, Kenya - twitter.com/pndraws

• Henry Ezeokeke, Nigeria - artstation.com/henryartist

• Elizabeth Jeffery, South Africa - www.greenorebooks.co.za

The winners of the Golden Baobab Prize will be announced on December 15th, 2018.

We are delighted to announce our judges for the 2018 Golden Baobab Prize! This year’s jury comprises prominent international publishing and literacy professionals. They are:

• Akoss Ofori-Mensah, Publisher, Sub-Saharan Publishers

• Kathy Knowles, Children’s writer, publisher and founder, Osu Library Fund

• Daphne Lee, ConsultingEditor, Scholastic Asia

• Sarah Odedina, Editor-at-Large, Pushkin Press

• Akua Peprah, Educator, The Lovett School

• Carol Williams, West Africa Regional Director, Worldreader

Full details about the 2018 judges can be found here: https://www.goldenbaobab.org/prizes/judges

“We are excited to present a jury this year that boasts an international group of literary professionals who care about getting diverse books to children.” says Eunice Ahenkorah, Program Manager of Golden Baobab. “As the Golden Baobab Prize celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, we look forward to a new chapter where we will establish meaningful partnerships with various organizations to increase our capacity to have more African children’s books published by our authors and illustrators”

The Golden Baobab Prize was established to discover and present talented African writers and illustrators with opportunities to produce African children's books. We invite entries of unpublished stories and illustrations by African citizens irrespective of age, race, gender or country of origin, and offers cash prizes as well as publishing opportunities to outstanding entries.

Winners of the Prize have to gone on to see success in the publishing industry. Grandma’s List, a Golden Baobab Prize winning story by Ghanaian writer Portia Dery and published by African Bureau Stories, has won the 2018 Children’s Africana Book Award (CABA) organized by Africa Access and the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association in the U.S. The CABA Award sponsors include the African Studies departments of Harvard, Howard and Yale universities among others. 

The winners of this year’s Golden Baobab Prize will be announced on December 15, 2018.

Grandma's List, a story that was awarded the 2014 Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books, has just won the internationally coveted Children's Africana Book Award (CABA). The book was written by Ghanaian author Portia Dery, illustrated by South African artist Toby Newsome and published by African Bureau Stories, a publishing partner of the Golden Baobab Prize. Grandma's List won the 2018 CABA Young Children’s category along with books from international publishers Penguin Random House, Candlewick Press and Lantana Publishing among others. 

(Portia Dery, 2018 CABA Winner and her book, Grandma's List)

The Children's Africana Book Award is an annual award presented to authors and illustrators of the best children’s and young adult books on Africa published or republished in the U.S.A. The awards were created by Africa Access and the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association (ASA) and its sponsors include the African Studies departments of universities Harvard, Howard and Yale among others. Past winning writers of CABA include Desmond Tutu, Niki Daly and Nnedi Okorafor.

(Image from 2018 CABA Winning book, Grandma’s List)

The Golden Baobab Prize guaranteed the publication of Grandma's List, as part of the prize package it offered to the winning writer. The success of this book is an end product of Golden Baobab's commitment to supporting the careers of African writers and illustrators and finding more opportunities for their great work to shine on regional and international platforms. This year, Golden Baobab is expanding its activities in publishing to provide more opportunities for talented African children's authors and illustrators to develop their careers. We are developing strategic African and global publishing partnerships to produce more stories from the Golden Baobab Prize.

(CABA announces winners of 2018 Best Book for Young Children)

Grandma’s List is a brilliant and colorful story about an 8-year old girl Fatima, who wants to save the day by helping her Grandmother complete her list of errands. The problem is, Fatima loses the list and she has to recall from memory what was written on it. The rest of story then takes the reader on a funny and heartwarming adventure with Fatima and her family.  

(An inside look into the award winning book, Grandma's List)

Kudos to Portia Dery and Toby Newsome for coming together to create this lovely story that young readers all over the world adore!

To order a copy of Grandma’s List, visit: facebook.com/pg/africanbureau/shop/

To purchase Grandma’s List, as an eBook on Amazon, click here. 

The 2018 Golden Baobab Prize Call for Submissions

Accra, Ghana, 31st March 2017 - Golden Baobab is pleased to announce the call for submissions for the 2018 Golden Baobab Prize. The Prize discovers and celebrates African writers and illustrators of children's stories and confers awards for their work. After enjoying nine successful years as an industry leader, Golden Baobab this year announces an exciting new phase with a heavier focus on publishing. It also announces the re-opening of the Golden Baobab Prize for Illustrators, the most important award for African children's book illustrators.

The 2018 Golden Baobab Prize offers a distinct platform for professional African writers and illustrators to kick-start their careers. The Prize will work to facilitate relationships between African publishers and finalist writers and illustrators with the goal to see more African children's books being published. In view of this, Golden Baobab is excited to expand its publishing network and increase its impact in more countries.

Commenting on the launch of the 2018 Prize Victor Kyerematen, the organization's Prize Coordinator said, "In the past, Golden Baobab has done a fantastic job of highlighting and honouring fresh voices in African children's literature. Henceforth, we are eagerly prioritizing work that gets more African books in the hands of children."

The 2018 Golden Baobab Prize offers three awards:
• The Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books, for the best story targeting a reader audience of ages 4-8.
• The Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books for the best story targeting a reader audience of ages 9-11.
• The Golden Baobab Prize for Illustrators for the best artwork that matches illustration briefs provided, intended for children ages 4-11.

Winners of the 2018 Golden Baobab Prize will receive a cash prize of 5,000 USD. In addition to press publicity, winning stories are guaranteed a publishing deal, finalist writers are connected with publishers across Africa and finalist illustrators participate in exhibitions and workshops.

The final deadline for submission is 31st March 2018. Golden Baobab invites African writers and illustrators to submit entries for this year's Prize and spread the word among their networks.

Vennessa Scholtz from South Africa, Winner of the 2016 Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books.

How do you feel about being a winner of the Golden Baobab Prizes? What does it mean for you?

I am humbled and honoured to be a winner of this prestigious award, more so because this is my first foray into writing literature for this age group. I am grateful and blessed for a God given opportunity to write this story, and for the possibility of it reaching and encouraging a new generation of readers.

How did you hear about the Golden Baobab Prize? and how is Golden Baobab’s work important to you?

I had seen some of the books at my library and then went looking for Golden Baobab online. It is important that African children read stories about them, for them and set in the world they live in. Golden Baobab gives these stories an opportunity to be published and read.

What were the hurdles you had to overcome to produce or publish your work? How did you surmount them?

The most difficult aspect was to find the time to write. I have a full time job, and I’m a wife and mother of two grown sons, so finding time just to sit and write was difficult. I forced myself to spend at least 30 minutes writing when I got home in the evening. Sometimes I would just put down words and at other times I actually worked on definite pieces of writing.

Winning Golden Baobab has given me the kick start I needed. I didn’t think I would win, so much so that I already started working on an entry for next year. I hope to continue writing children’s stories that will make a positive impact on the reading habits of our young people.

Lori-Ann Preston from South Africa, Winner of the 2016 Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books.

How do you feel about being a winner of the Golden Baobab Prizes? What does it mean for you?

 I’m absolutely thrilled, grateful and honored to be a winner of The Golden Baobab Prizes.  To have received recognition of my writing by such a prestigious panel of judges is both humbling, exciting and a dream come true.

How did you hear about the Golden Baobab Prize? and how is Golden Baobab’s work important to you?

 The competition was advertised by SCBWI an international children’s writing society that I’m a member of.  I then googled The Golden Baobab Prize and was immediately excited to become a part of such an amazing endeavour. I certainly share in The Golden Baobab’s vision ‘to create a world filled with wonder and possibilities for children, one African story at a time’.  And I am delighted to become a part of The Golden Baobab team. The Golden Baobab Prize has also given me the opportunity as an unpublished writer to become recognized and supported, which I am extremely grateful for.

What fascinates you about (African) children's literature?

I absolutely love my beautiful country and its incredible diversity. I find African children’s stories to be both fun and educational and I love reading children stories that they can relate to.

How did you become interested in books and writing?

My mom has always been an avid reader.  She introduced me, as a young child to the wonderful world of books. My most memorable and favourite book would be Enid Blyton’s, Up The Faraway Tree, which my mom read to me as a young child.  The characters had such a huge impact on my life and I so wanted to meet Moonface and Silky the fairy. I have always had a calling to write children’s stories and I’m passionate about educating children. As a teacher who has read hundreds of books to children over the past twenty years, nothing brings me more pleasure, than introducing children to the wonderful world of their imagination.

What ambitions do you have for your career?

The Golden Baobab Prize Announces 2016 Winners and Shortlist

 Accra, Ghana, November 21, 2016 – Golden Baobab is delighted to announce the winners of the 7th edition of the Golden Baobab Prize. The Prize is often referred to as the “African Newbery Prize”, and is renowned as a pioneering and prestigious award in the African children’s literature industry.

This year, the Golden Baobab​ ​Prize received over 150 stories from 11 African countries.​ ​The submissions were judged by​ ​an​ ​impressive​ ​jury from diverse backgrounds who collectively brought nearly 100 years of experience in children’s literature to the selection of the 2016 winners and finalists.   

The winning stories of the 2016 Golden Baobab Prize are:

• The Ama-zings! by Lori-Ann Preston from South Africa, Winner of the Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books.

• Kita and the Red, Dusty Road by Vennessa Scholtz from South Africa, Winner of the Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books.  
  
  

The winner of each Golden Baobab Prize receives​ ​a cash prize of 5,000 USD and a guaranteed publishing contract.​​

 Those shortlisted were:  

The Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books

• Maya and the Finish Line by Ayo Oyeku from Nigeria

• Lights and Freedom by Khethiwe Mndawe from South Africa

The Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books

• A Dark Night for Wishes by Kai Tuomi from South Africa

• Mr. Cocka-Rocka-Roo by Lori-Ann Preston from South Africa​

The Executive Director of Golden Baobab, Deborah Ahenkorah Osei-Agyekum commented, “For the past seven years, The Golden Baobab Prize has​ ​focused on delivering a quality annual literature prize that raises awareness about the need for more African literature for children.​ ​Now, the Prize is excited to enter a new​ ​phase where we​ ​will focus heavily on setting up more publishing partnerships and opportunities for our writers to get more African books into the hands of children. ​For the first​ ​time, this year's winning stories are guaranteed a publishing contract. The longlist also receives publishing services from Golden Baobab​ ​that will​ ​connect their​ ​stories to leading African and international publishers.”

We are excited to share that, two stories from the Golden Baobab Prize have been published into books this year.

Malaika’s Magical Kiosk written by Shaleen Keshavjee-Gulam from Kenya (for readers 7-10 years old) and Dad Goes to School by Mandy Collins from South Africa (for readers 5-8 years old) were longlisted in the 2014 Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books.

As part of our commitment to the finalists of our Prize, we connected the top stories from the Prize to African and international publishing opportunities.

Malaika’s Magical Kiosk and Dad Goes to School, were produced by Mango Books, an imprint of Quramo Publishing Limited, an independent publishing company based in Nigeria. Quramo Publishing Limited is part of Golden Baobab’s growing network of publishing partners who are committed to our vision to spread more books by Africans to young readers all over the world.

Watch for a snippet of Malaika's Magical Kiosk

Watch for a snippet of Dad Goes to School

Our Executive Director, Deborah Ahenkorah Osei-Agyekum attended the launch of the children's books, which was held in Lagos, Nigeria, to show support to the longlisted authors, literacy and publishing initiatives of Mango Books.

Malaika’s Magical Kiosk and Dad Goes to School are available to download on Amazon. To buy copies in Nigeria, kindly visit Quramo Publishing Limited's website. For copies in Ghana, please contact Golden Baobab.

We are very honored that our Executive Director, Deborah Ahenkorah Osei-Agyekum has been recognized by the International Literacy Association (ILA) for her work as a literacy and education advocate and her contributions to the space through Golden Baobab and our sister company, African Bureau Stories.

Deborah Ahenkorah Osei-Agyekum on the Cover Page of ILA's Literacy Today Magazine

Deborah was nominated and selected as one of the 30 rising literacy leaders for the International Literacy Association’s second annual 30 Under 30 list! The 30 under 30 list which recognizes up-and-coming literacy champions around the globe and this year’s list of honorees consist ‘rising leaders’ from 12 countries and several sectors. The winners are made up of nonprofit leaders, classroom teachers, authors, volunteers, researchers, and social entrepreneurs, who have championed projects that have directly improved literacy in their communities.

Student Athletes from DUNK, a basketball after school program received their book bags from Deborah & our mascot, GeeBee The Book Bag

 Our Executive Director was featured (on the front page!) of Literacy Today, the member magazine of the International Literacy Association. To read the full magazine interview and inspiring stories of other literary champions who made the list, click here.

Deborah Ahenkorah Osei-Agyekum features as the cover story for Literacy Today  

Golden Baobab was invited to speak and exhibit illustrations at the 2016 Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC), held in Singapore. AFCC is an annual event organized by the National Book Development Council of Singapore to celebrate and promote the creation and appreciation of children’s book content, with a focus on Asian themes. The AFCC 2016 had over 100 local and international speakers, including authors, illustrators, publishers, media professionals and advocates from countries across Asia, Europe, Australia, and North America. Golden Baobab was proud to be representing the African continent.

Like the African continent, Asia boasts of widely diverse cultures and languages. Both regions have a shared history of colonization and today even experience similar development challenges. Being invited to AFCC was an opportunity for Golden Baobab to get to know works and writers from Asia and vice versa. While children’s books from Africa and Asia may not be traveling widely to readers all over the world, it is collaborations and partnerships such as this one that begin to pave the way for increased awareness of children’s literature from our respective parts of the world.

At the festival, our Executive Director, Deborah Ahenkorah Osei-Agyekum spoke on various panels about the African children’s industry, its challenges and the role Golden Baobab is playing in the space. She discussed the transformative power of culturally sensitive stories on children and examined various possible models for the effective distribution of books. Deborah revealed various steps our sister company, African Bureau Stories, is taking to navigate publishing and upcoming titles.

Also part of the festival, finalists illustrations from the inaugural Golden Baobab Prize for African Illustrators were exhibited in Singapore at the Book Illustrators Gallery (BIG) from May to June. BIG is part of AFCC, and aims to showcase local and regional illustrators and artists and promote them to a wider audience. Importantly, it offers a platform for authors, publishers and the public to take note of illustrators showcased.

  Illustrations from the inaugural Golden Baobab Prize for African Illustrators exhibited at BIG, Singapore

The finalist illustrations showcased eleven of the finest illustrators from 5 countries across Africa. The artists featured were:

• Elizabeth Jeffery, South Africa (http://www.greenorebooks.co.za/)

• Melany Pietersen, South Africa (www.melanypietersen.com &  www.happyartworks.com)

• Gyimah Gariba, Ghana (ggariba.tumblr.com)

• Jillian Slabbert, South Africa (http://jiljarvis.co.za/)

• Lorraine Alvarez, Zimbabwe (www.facebook.com/lorraine.alvarez.posen.art)

• Mokoena Kobeli, South Africa (www.facebook.com/mokoena.kobeli1 or www.behance.net/mokoenakobeli)

• Robert Foote, South Africa (www.facebook.com/robfooteillustration)

• Setor Fiadzibey, Ghana (www.facebook.com/setor.fiadzigbey)

• Shan Fischer, South Africa (www.shanfischer.com)

• Wesley Van Eeden, South Africa (www.facebook.com/Resoborg)

• Xanele Puren, South Africa (www.seesawdo.com)

• Zineb Benjelloun, Morroco (www.facebook.com/ZNBillustrated)

  Collage of finalist illustrations from the inaugural Golden Baobab Prize for African Illustrators 

The 2016 Golden Baobab Prize was launched on April 2, 2016 as we commemorated the International Children’s Book Day. This is a very special launch, because we are also celebrating the 7th anniversary of the Prize. To mark this anniversary and the growth of the prize, we have introduced a refreshed identity for the the Golden Baobab Prize and refined award categories and guidelines.

(Picture above: The New Golden Baobab Prize Logo)

The Golden Baobab Prize is committed to discovering, celebrating and nurturing talented African writers and illustrators. The prize has received nearly 2000 entries since its beginning and its jury has included notable literary personalities such as Meshack Asare, Bernadine Evaristo, Nii Ayikwei Parkes and Paul O. Zelinsky. Funding for the prize has come from organizations such as Echoing Green, Tigo Reach for Change and the African Library Project.

This year there are 4 prizes to be awarded: The Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books, the Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books, the Golden Baobab Prize for Illustrators and the Golden Baobab Lifetime Achievement Prize. They come with $20,000 in prize money and publishing opportunities for winning stories.

Click to hear more: 

If you are an African writer, illustrator/artist, get excited and ready to submit! And spread the word among other authors and illustrators you know. For more submission details, visit 2016 Prizes. 

We are very excited to share that Deborah Ahenkorah, Co-founder and Executive Director of Golden Baobab has been honored with the 2015 Grinnell Prize for Social Justice Innovators. Every year, the prestigious Grinnell Prize recognizes two young innovators from around the world who are creating change with a social justice lens and this initiative is the brain-child of Grinnell College, a private liberal arts college in Iowa. It gives a $100,000 cash award to the innovative leader and their organization.  

The prize ceremony took place on Monday, October 26th 2015 at the Herrick Chapel, on the Grinnell College campus and gave a $100,000 cash award to Deborah Ahenkorah, Golden Baobab and its publishing arm, African Bureau for Children’s Stories. “We are highly honored by this prestigious recognition,” says Deborah, “In our field of work it is sometimes hard to connect with people who see your complete vision and fully understand your approach. The Grinnell Prize’s support validates our work, our efforts, our vision and the thought process behind it all.”

The second winner of the prize, Maria Vertkin, is the Creator and Executive Director of Found in Translation, and is also an Echoing Green fellow. Both Maria and Deborah gave incredible speeches upon receiving their awards. 

Click to watch Deborah’s speech: 

Click to watch Maria’s speech: 

Click to watch the Q & A session from both winners:

President Kington of Grinnell College commented, “When I created this program in 2010, my goal was to honor people who are modeling the Grinnellian ideal of learning in the service of social commitment…as the program has matured and thrived, I have come to see that it is also a powerful way to connect our students and community with exceptional social innovators.”

The ceremony culminated in a showing of the prize paintings created by artist Tillly Woodward of the Faulconer Gallery, and commissioned by Grinnell College to commemorate the winners.

As part of the prize celebrations, the Falconer Gallery at Grinnell College launched an exhibition of the finalists illustrations from the inaugural Golden Baobab Prize for African Illustrators. The installation is featured under the title “Current Styles in African Illustration.” For more on the exhibition kindly visit: http://www.grinnell.edu/about/offices-services/faulconer-gallery/exhibitions

The Grinnell-Newburg school district in Iowa has recently organized a contest to mirror the prestigious Golden Baobab Prizes, and to recognize the opportunities it creates for writers and illustrators of children’s literature across Africa. This rising author and rising illustrator competition targeted children from 3rd to 8th grade, and received an overwhelming response from students in the community. There were multiple writing and illustration workshops organized before the competition deadline, to give tips and encourage interested contestants. The competition was set up as part of the celebrations of the 2015 Grinnell Prize for Social Justice Innovators which Golden Baobab recently won. 

(Pictures above: The judges of the contest hard at work deliberating over the entries) 

In a speech at the award ceremony, Deborah commented, “I am so thankful to the organizers from the school district, the community and Grinnell College for this wonderful initiative. Judging the student entries was such a delight! It was incredible to see the time, effort and thought behind each story and artwork. I am happy to know that Golden Baobab has left an indelible mark on Grinnell.”

There were 6 writing and illustration categories. 12 winners and honorable mentions were awarded books and gift cards during the award ceremony at the Grinnell Middle School. The contest submissions will be compiled and published as a book and offered to the winners as well. This was a great initiative to engage the children from the Grinnell-Newburg community.

(Pictures above: The winners and honorable mentions from the contest receive their prizes)

We had the pleasure of having our Executive Director, Deborah Ahenkorah as a guest storyteller during the Grinnell Prize week celebrations. The event at the Drake Community Library was well attended by young kids, parents and supporters from the Grinnell community.

(Picture above: Deborah at the storytelling event in Grinnell, Iowa)

(Picture above: Golden Baobab Prize shortlisted story, Abena and the Corn Seed, by Ghanaian author Vivian Amanor)

At the start of the story time event, Deborah was introduced by Golden Baobab staff Eunice Ahenkorah, who also was in attendance. Deborah performed an oral storytelling of a Golden Baobab Prize shortlisted story, which has now been published into a book. The book chosen was Abena and the Corn Seed, written by Ghanaian author Vivian Amanor, and is available for purchase here: http://www.osuchildrenslibraryfund.ca/publications/book-catalogue/

The children’s story time event kicked off the week long celebration of the 2015 Grinnell Prize for Social Justice Innovators which Golden Baobab recently won. 

(Picture above: Deborah with a young girl at the community library wearing a hand-made face mask)

 (Picture above: Deborah and Eunice with a young boy at the community library wearing a hand-made face mask)

2015 marks the 7th anniversary of the Golden Baobab Prizes and we are proud to celebrate the incredible triumph this prize has become in a very short time. To mark this milestone, we are re-vamping and improving the Golden Baobab Prizes as well as reviewing several exciting opportunities to deliver increased programming to support African writers and illustrators and to promote African children's literature. The next season of the Golden Baobab Prizes for African Literature and Illustration will open in 2016. We are currently not accepting submissions for the literature or illustration prizes in 2015. Once the prizes open, we will present our new submission guidelines and all relevant details on our website and social media. In the meantime, don't be strangers! Follow us and let's chit-chat on our facebook and twitter @goldenbaobab.

The 2014 Golden Baobab Prizes unveiled some exciting creative writers and illustrators from all over Africa who present incredibly diverse talents. We received nearly 300 submissions from over the African continent and diaspora and narrowed them down to three deserving winners across different categories. Nigerian writer, Mary Okon Ononokpono and Ghanaian author, Portia Dery won the prizes in literature and South African artist, Xanele Puren won the inaugural illustrator’s prize. We are excited to share with the world some of the amazing work of the prize winners and finalists, through these well received media highlights. Do check them out below and enjoy!

Leave a comment and have your say! Tell us what you think or which illustrations are your favorite.

Click to watch Mary Okon Ononokpono, Winner of 2014 Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Book on France24

Click to watch Mary Okon Ononokpono’s interview with This Day Live

Click to listen to Portia Dery, Winner of 2014 Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Book and Xanele Puren, Winner of 2014 Golden Baobab Prize for African Illustrators on BBC Africa  

Click to read Okay Africa’s 10 African Children's Illustrators To Know, which feature the ten finalists of the inaugural Golden Baobab Prize for African Illustrators.

Image courtesy of okayafrica.com 

The 52nd Bologna Children’s Book Fair, one of the top publishing industry events of the year, kicked off in March 2015 in Bologna, Italy. The fair ranks among the most important children’s book fair which gathers publishers, copyrights agents, authors, illustrators for children's books, booksellers, distributors, librarians and printers from all over the globe.

Golden Baobab, was invited to attend and exhibit as one of the major stakeholders in the African children’s book industry. Here are some highlights from the week long event!

Earlier this year Golden Baobab launched with pomp and pageantry in Accra, Ghana, the inaugural Golden Baobab Prize for African Illustrators. This is the biggest and most prestigious prize committed to discovering, nurturing and celebrating talented African illustrators of children’s stories. The $7,500 Prize recognizes two talented African illustrators with the awards: The Golden Baobab Prize for Illustrators and The Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Illustrators.

The 2014 Golden Baobab Prizes for Illustrators had an exciting mix of judges who brought diverse perspectives and experiences to the task of identifying Africa’s best children’s illustrator. The judges were:

• Paul O. Zelinsky, International Award-winning American Illustrator and Writer and Caldecott Medalist
• Akua Peprah, Ghanaian Early Childhood Educator teaching in Boston, U.S.A
• Kofi Kokua Asante Anyimadu, 8-year old Ghanaian book lover

According to the Executive Director of Golden Baobab, Deborah Ahenkorah, "Golden Baobab is excited to launch this prize to recognize and celebrate talented African illustrators for children stories. Children deserve to have imaginative and captivating illustrations accompany enthralling stories they read. They deserve to not only see themselves represented in those stories but also in the images they consume." 

There were 12 finalists for the 2014 Golden Baobab Prize for African Illustrators. They were:

• Elizabeth Jeffery, South Africa (http://bit.ly/1rTovAj)
• Melany Pieterson, South Africa (www.melanypietersen.com & www.happyartworks.com)
• Gyimah Gariba, Ghana ( http://on.fb.me/NmCo6P & ggariba.tumblr.com)
• Jillian Slabbert, South Africa (http://bit.ly/1vZgKdE)
• Lorraine Alvarez, Zimbabwe (www.facebook.com/lorraine.alvarez.posen.art)
• Mokoena Kobeli, South Africa (www.facebook.com/bamako.kobeli)
• Robert Foote, South Africa (www.facebook.com/robfooteillustration)
• Setor Fiadzibey, Ghana (www.facebook.com/setor.fiadzigbey)
• Shan Fischer, South Africa (www.shanfischer.com) 
• Wesley Van Eeden, South Africa (www.facebook.com/Resoborg)
• Xanele Puren, South Africa (www.seesawdo.com)
• Zineb Benjelloun, Morroco (www.facebook.com/ZNBillustrated)

Here are some of the submitted illustrations from the 2014 finalists.

The finalists were narrowed down to a shortlist of 3 illustrators: Gyimah Gariba (Ghana), Wesley Van Eeden (South Africa) and Xanele Puren (South Africa). Xanele emerged as the winner of the inaugural Golden Baobab Prize for African Illustrators. No submission for the Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Illustrators made it onto the 2014 shortlist.

Here is some of the fantastic press the 2014 Golden Baobab Prizes for Illustrators has received:

• Announcing the 2014 winners: http://allafrica.com/stories/201411140715.html
  
• Poster featuring all three winners: on.fb.me/1u5MnL1
• Poster of winning Illustrations: http://on.fb.me/1HeU2kn
• BBC World Service Radio interview of Prize Winners, Portia Dery and Xanele Puren: http://bbc.in/1vbGR0z
  
  

The Golden Baobab Prizes for Illustrators are organized alongside Golden Baobab’s annual literature prizes.