One of the most prestigious literary awards in the UK nominated the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie as the winner of the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction 2007, for her novel “Half of a Yellow Sun”. The 29 year old became the first African and the youngest ever winner of this prize. She won over a shortlist of finalists from five countries, including Kiran Desai, short-listed for her Booker Prize winner “The Inheritance of Loss”.
Adichie's novel, “Half of a Yellow Sun”, is her second novel: set during the Biafran War of the 1960s. The novel tells the story of people caught up in the unfolding political turmoil in West Africa, whose loyalties are acutely tested when troops advance on the dusty university town they inhabit. It examines ethnic allegiances, moral responsibility, class and race.
One of the judging panel and broadcaster Muriel Gray, presented the author with the £30,000 prize and the 'Bessie', a limited edition bronze figurine, and said: "The judges and I were hugely impressed by the power, ambition and skill of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel. It's astonishing, not just in the skillful subject matter, but in the brilliance of its accessibility. This is a moving and important book by an incredibly exciting author". The award ceremony took place at the newly-refurbished Royal Festival Hall on London's South Bank.Congrat!
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie official website: www.halfofayellowsun.com
For more information, visit www.orangeprize.co.uk
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