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.