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Renowned Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been awarded the Women’s Prize for Fiction ‘Winner of Winners’ for her novel Half of a Yellow Sun.
Chimamanda’s novel was voted winner over works by writers and authors including Zadie Smith, the late Andrea Levy, Lionel Shriver, Rose Tremain and Maggie O’Farrell, amongst others.
The award marks the culmination of the Prize’s year-long 25th-anniversary celebrations, forming a key part of Women Prize for Fiction’s Reading Women campaign.
In reaction to the award, Chimamanda in a video shared by Women Prize on their official Instagram Handle said she is really pleased and the award is such an honour.
“I’m really really pleased about being the Winner of Winners for a number of reasons. The first is that this is a prize that I really respect because I think this is a prize that has consistently brought very good literature to the forefront and has introduced really good books that might not have received the kind of recognition if not for this prize.
“So, to be the winner of Winners is such really, it’s clichéd to say it’s such an honour,” she said.
Adiche while sharing the news of her recognition on her Instagram handle said, “Thank you to @womensprize and thank you to every single person who read Half Of A Yellow Sun. This feels like a much-needed sliver of light in a dark year.”
She will be presented with a silver edition of the Prize’s annual statuette, known as the ‘Bessie’, which was originally created and donated by the artist Grizel Niven as part of the gift of an anonymous donor. The event is scheduled to hold online on December 6, 2020.
