The 6 Golden Baobab Prizes
About the Golden Baobab Prizes for Literature
To view and share our 2014 Promotional Poster for The Golden Baobab Prizes for Literature, please click here
Established in 2008, the Golden Baobab Prizes for Literature are prestigious annual pan-African awards which recognize and celebrate excellence in stories targeting African children. Golden Baobab awards three prizes annually: the Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Book, the Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Book, and the Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Writers. Prizes submissions which must be unpublished stories by African writers go through a thorough evaluation process and the final selection of winners is made by a prestigious panel of judges. Winning stories are published by Golden Baobab and/or Golden Baobab’s top tier publishing partners throughout the African continent and internationally. Shortlisted and outstanding non-winning stories may have the opportunity to publish with Golden Baobab and/or these partners as well.
The Golden Baobab Prizes for Literature are:
The Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Book
This prize is awarded annually to the most captivating unpublished African manuscript for a picture book targeting readers aged 6 – 8 years old. Submissions should be between 700 and 2,000 words in length. The Golden Baobab Prize package includes an award of $5,000 (USD), the opportunity to publish with and receive royalties from Golden Baobab and/or Golden Baobab’s top tier African and international publishing partners, the benefit of increased publicity that comes with being named a Golden Baobab Prize winner, and the opportunity to attend a Golden Baobab award ceremony. Entry information can be foundhere.
Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books
This prize is awarded annually to the most captivating unpublished African manuscript for an early chapter book targeting readers aged 9 -11 years old. Submissions should be between 5,000 and 10,000 words. The Golden Baobab Prize package includes an award of $5,000 (USD), the opportunity to publish with and receive royalties from Golden Baobab and/or Golden Baobab’s top tier African and international publishing partners, the benefit of increased publicity that comes with being named a Golden Baobab Prize winner, and the opportunity to attend a Golden Baobab award ceremony. Entry information can be found here.
Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Writers
This prize is awarded annually to a young African author under the age of 18 who demonstrates the talent and drive to become the next great African author for children. Entrants must submit a Rising Writer Personal Profile and an unpublished story that meets the Early Chapter Book Prize requirements (5,000 – 10,000 words intended for readers from ages 9-11 years). In addition to these, entrants who wish to do so may submit 4 more stories. These additional stories can meet either the Picture Book Prize requirements or the Early Chapter Book Prize requirements. It is not compulsory to submit additional stories but they may strengthen an entrant’s candidacy. Please note that entrants below age 18 who submit stories but do not submit a Rising Writer Personal Profile will only be considered for the individual book prize category in which their submissions fall, and will not be considered for the Rising Writer Prize. The winner of this prize will receive $2,500 (USD), the benefit of increased publicity that comes with being named a Golden Baobab Prize winner and mentorship opportunities. The winner will alsol serve on the prestigious panel of judges for the 2015 Golden Baobab Prize, bringing a critical young perspective to the evaluation process. Entry information can be found here.
Submission deadline for 2014 is 11:59pm GMT Sunday, June 29, 2014.
About the Golden Baobab Prizes for Illustrations
To view and share our 2014 Promotional Poster for The Golden Baobab Prizes for Illustrations, please click here
Over the past 5 years Golden Baobab has inspired the creation of over 1,000 African stories for children and discovered and celebrated many stellar African writers. Books for children however need artistic accompaniment so discovering and celebrating African writers and illustrators of children’s stories is Golden Baobab’s next mission!
In 2012 we embarked on a search for the most talented young illustrators in Ghana. We successfully identified nine world class young Ghanaian artists and offered them an intensive course in children’s illustrations led by the world renowned Ghanaian children’s writer-illustrator Meshack Asare. The illustrators at the workshop collectively illustrated a Golden Baobab winning story from Zimbabwe. It was an incredible success. Subsequently Golden Baobab organized another workshop with the same illustrators led by two-time Caldecott award winning illustrator Paul Zelinsky.
It is from the success of the above initiatives that the two Golden Baobab Prizes for Illustrations were born. These pan-African illustration prizes will be awarded annually to find the next best illustrators for African children’s stories.
The Golden Baobab Prizes for Illustrations are:
The Golden Baobab Prize for Illustrators: This prize is awarded annually to an African illustrator of any age who demonstrates the talent and passion for illustrating for children and has a track record to show for it. The prize package for this award includes $5,000 (USD), the opportunity to attend a Golden Baobab award ceremony and a travelling exhibition of artist’s illustrations. Entry information can be found here.
The Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Illustrators: This prize is awarded annually to a young African illustrator under the age of 18 who demonstrates the talent and drive to become the next great African illustrator for children. The prize package for this award includes $2,500 (USD), mentorship opportunities, the opportunity to attend a Golden Baobab award ceremony and a travelling exhibition of artist’s illustrations. Entry information can be found here.
Submission deadline for 2014 is 11:59pm GMT Sunday, June 29, 2014.
The Golden Baobab Lifetime Achievement in Children’s Literature Award:
This new award is to recognize African writers/illustrators who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding significance to the development of African children’s literature.
- To view and share our 2014 Promotional Poster for The Golden Baobab Prizes for Literature, please click here
- To view and share our 2014 Promotional Poster for The Golden Baobab Prizes for Illustrations, please click here
>via: http://www.goldenbaobab.org/prizes/the-6-golden-baobab-prizes