Francis Nyamnjoh wins 2014 Eko Literary Prize

It is for his lifetime contributions to creative writing and arts in Cameroon and beyond.

Prof. Francis Nyamnjoh has been selected as the 2014 winner of the Eko Prize for Literature, an Anglophone Cameroon competition. A release published on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 and signed by Dr Mbuh Tennu Mbuh, said, “The Judges based their decision on the laureate’s lifetime achievement as a prolific writer, critic, and promoter of the Arts in Cameroon, Africa, and the world at large.”

Winners of the 2014 Eko Prize for Emerging Anglophone Writers are Ekpe Inyang for his collection of poems entitled “Death of Hardship;” Joffi Ewusi in the prose category for her book, “Christmas Carols in June;” Job Fongho Tende for his drama piece, “Riding the Chariot of God,” and Charles Nfon in the non-fiction category for his work titled, “Ushered Out of One, Accepted at Another.”

For his achievement, Nyamnjoh gets a cash prize of 1,000 US Dollars (about FCFA 527,000) and a commemorative plaque with his name. The other winners will each receive 250 US Dollars (about FCFA 132,000) and commemorative plaques on which their names are emboldened. The prize award ceremony is planned for January 2015.

A social anthropologist, who has published several novels, plays, together with critical books and articles in internationally-acclaimed journals, Francis Nyamnjoh was named ‘African Hero of the Year’ for 2013 by the African Students’ Union of Ohio University, USA. He has made a great impact on Cameroon’s and Africa’s cultural landscape. More specifically, he has been a great crusader for the promotion of African, specifically Cameroon literature on the global space.

The holder of Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Yaounde I and a PhD from the University of Leicester, UK, he joined the University of Cape Town, South Africa in August 2009 as Professor of Social Anthropology. He has taught sociology, anthropology and communication studies at universities in Cameroon and Botswana.

He is presently Chair of the Editorial Board of the South African Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) Press since January 2011.

Professor Nyamnjoh’s recent books include “Negotiating an Anglophone Identity” (2003), “Rights and the Politics of Recognition in Africa” (2004), “Africa's Media, Democracy and the Politics of Belonging” (2005), “Insiders and Outsiders: Citizenship and Xenophobia in Contemporary Southern Africa” (2006), “Mobile Phones: The New Talking Drums of Everyday Africa” (2009), “The Post-colonial Turn: Re-Imagining Anthropology and Africa” (2011), and “Side@Ways: Mobile Margins and the Dynamics of Communication in Africa” (2013).