Kenyan Writer Okwiri Oduor Wins The Caine Prize for African Writing 2014

Kenyan author Okwiri Oduor becomes the winner of the 2014 Caine Prize for African Writing. Her winning story, 'My Father's Head', was inspired by the loss of her father, shes goes on to win the £10,000 prize which was annouched at a dinner held on Monday, 14 July at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

‘My Father’s Head’ explores the narrator’s difficulty in dealing with the loss of her father and looks at the themes of memory, loss and loneliness. The narrator works in an old people’s home and comes into contact with a priest, giving her the courage to recall her buried memories of her father.

Judge Jackie Kay praised the story, saying, “Okwiri Oduor is a writer we are all really excited to have discovered. ‘My Father’s Head’ is an uplifting story about mourning – Joycean in its reach. She exercises an extraordinary amount of control and yet the story is subtle, tender and moving. It is a story you want to return to the minute you finish it.”

The other 2014 shortlist comprises of: 

• Diane Awerbuck (South Africa) "Phosphorescence" in Cabin Fever (Umuzi, Cape Town. 2011)
• Efemia Chela (Ghana/Zambia) "Chicken" in Feast, Famine and Potluck (Short Story Day Africa, South Africa. 2013)
• Tendai Huchu (Zimbabwe) "The Intervention" in Open Road Review, issue 7, New Delhi. 2013
• Billy Kahora (Kenya) "The Gorilla's Apprentice" in Granta (London. 2010)

For all you budding writers out there, entries for the 2015 Caine Prize is now open, for more details on how to get involved click here.