Jack Mapanje to select winner in Dede Kamkondo contest

Genre : Cultural projects
Principal country concerned : Column : Literature
Release/publication date : 2015
Published on : 19/02/2015
Source : http://timesmediamw.com/jack-mapanje-select-winner-dede-kamkondo-contest/ 18 February 2015


Renowned writer Jack Mapanje is expected to select the overall winner in the Dede Kamkondo Short Story competition which has seen 10 writers being shortlisted.



Last year, Mapanje was also one of the judges during the Malawi Writers Union (Mawu) Peer Gynt competition in which Shadreck Chikoti emerged the winner.



Mapanje, who was head of English at Chancellor College before being imprisoned in 1987 for his collection Of Chameleons and Gods, last year said he is always willing to help in uplifting art in the country.



He also said that there was talent in the country adding that there is need to encourage poets, writers and all other artists to work hard in whatever they do and strive to produce the best.



The other judges who will be part of selecting the winners include twice Caine Prize nominee Stanley Kenani and Chikoti, who is also the founder of The Story Club.



Mapanje, Chikoti and Kenani will select the best three stories from the 10 who have been shortlisted.



A press release from the organisers – Wisdom Dede Kamkondo Foundation said on Monday that they were overwhelmed with the number of entries that they received and that this made it impossible for them to stick to deadlines.



Creative director at www. malawiheat.com (Malawi Heat) Pius Nyondo, financiers of the competition – which is in memory of versatile Malawian writer, poet and playwright Wisdom Dede Kamkondo bemoaned lack of commitment on the part of donors as one the challenges facing the progress of the competition.



However, Nyondo, who is also a renowned writer, was quick to say that they were happy with the long-listing development.



"Since 2013 we have been financing the contests from our own pockets, and it has not been that easy. The corporate world, which we have approached times without number, have not been very forthcoming," said he said.



The 10 shortlisted writers include Andrew Dakalira for his story Breaking Free, Beaton



 



Galafa for Bullet in the Wind, Steve Kumalonje for Innocent Accident, Tuntufye Simwimba for Meet Benedict, Precious Mulima for Scarlet Rivers, Wesley Macheso for Sweet Mangoes in his ears, Theophany Nammelo for The Music of Nature, Natasha Munde for Whispers of May, Muthi Nhlema for Legacy and Tawonga Msowoya for Mr Charles.



The organizers, however, have indicated that they will only award a cash prize to the overall winner, with the first and second runners-up getting nothing.



"Due to the financial challenges that have currently rocked us, we may only be able to award the first prize. Unless we source funding from elsewhere, we will not give cash prizes to the second and third winners," said Nyondo.



The overall winner, who will be announced early April, is expected to cart home US$200 (about K100, 000).



The Dede Kamkondo Literary Awards are a brainchild of Nyondo and Towera Kamkondo – daughter to Wisdom – and were inaugurated in 2012. Paul Sezzie won the inaugural poetry award.



Towera, whose father died in 2006 in the US, said during the inaugural competition that they set up the award primarily in the memory of her father who enormously contributed and wanted so much to cultivate the spirit of reading and writing among Malawian youths.



Kamkondo is best remembered for his poetry, short stories, novels, plays and children's books. His novels such as Children of the Lake, Truth Will Out and For the Living are read all over the world and can be found in US libraries, local bookshops and at the Michigan State University where he went in 1995 to pursue his doctoral studies.



Mapanje was also one of the judges in the Malawi Writers Union (Mawu) Peer Gynt Awards contest last year which Shadreck Chikoti won.



Mapanje was once Head of English at Chancellor College before being imprisoned in 1987 for his collection Of Chameleons and Gods.

Partners

  • Arterial network
  • Media, Sports and Entertainment Group (MSE)
  • Gens de la Caraïbe
  • Groupe 30 Afrique
  • Alliance Française VANUATU
  • PACIFIC ARTS ALLIANCE
  • FURTHER ARTS
  • Zimbabwe : Culture Fund Of Zimbabwe Trust
  • RDC : Groupe TACCEMS
  • Rwanda : Positive Production
  • Togo : Kadam Kadam
  • Niger : ONG Culture Art Humanité
  • Collectif 2004 Images
  • Africultures Burkina-Faso
  • Bénincultures / Editions Plurielles
  • Africiné
  • Afrilivres

With the support of