Literary Prizes, Writers’ Organisations and Canon Formation in Africa

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article explores the circulation of value in the literary market by investigating the interlinkages between African writers’ organisations and international literary award institutions. It focuses on selected writers’ organisations such as FEMRITE, Kwani?, Storymoja, Farafina, and Writivism, investigating how they participate in placing contemporary African literature in the global literary marketplace especially through their creative writing programmes. The article pays attention to the intersection between literary awards and creative writing programmes on the continent in mediating the process of literary production. I attempt to place the literary text within the mechanisms of its production by examining the various structures that frame the creative writing programmes on the continent. The article borrows from John Guillory’s (1993) ideas on the canon in which he argues that the process of canonisation is directly influenced by the distribution of, or the access to, the means of literary production. I argue that these local writers’ outfits are not only taking over the role of literary canonisation from the mainstream literary institutions such as the universities, publishers, and international award bodies, they are also consolidating their position as major players in the African literary and cultural fields.