Ethiopian Author Wins Caine Prize For African Writing

Meron Hadero has become the first Ethiopian author to win the prestigious AKO Caine Prize for African Writing.

“I’m absolutely thrilled, I’m in shock – being shortlisted in itself was a huge honour,” she said.

The author will take home £10,000 ($13,000) in prize money.

Her winning short story ‘Street sweep’ is about an Ethiopian boy called Getu, who has to navigate the fraught power dynamics of NGOs and foreign aid in Addis Ababa.

According to BBC reports, the impressed judges who found it “utterly without self-pity” said it “turns the lens” on the usual clichés.

She says stories of “refugees, immigrants and those at risk of being displaced” are always the “entry-point emotionally” to her work.

The young author revealed her love for writing short stories saying her next challenge is her debut novel.

The Ethiopian born author was raised with a sister Meklit Hadero, in the US by parents who are both medical doctors.

S.S/BBC