TOPE FOLARIN WINS 2013 CAINE PRIZE FOR AFRICAN WRITING

Nigeria’s Tope Folarin has won the
2013 Caine Prize for African Writing, described as Africa’s leading literary award, for his short story
entitled ‘Miracle’ from Transition.
The Chair of Judges, Gus Casely-Hayford, announced
Tope Folarin as the winner of the £10,000 prize at a dinner on Monday evening at the
Bodleian Library in Oxford.
‘Miracle’ is a story set in Texas in an evangelical Nigerian church where the congregation has gathered to witness the healing
powers of a blind pastor-prophet. Religion and the gullibility of those caught in the
deceit that sometimes comes with faith rise to the surface as a young boy volunteers
to be healed and begins to
believe in miracles.
Gus Casely-Hayford praised the story, saying:
“Tope Folarin’s ‘Miracle’ is another superb Caine Prize winner – a delightful and
beautifully paced narrative, that is exquisitely observed and utterly compelling”.
Tope Folarin is the recipient of writing
fellowships from the Institute for Policy Studies and Callaloo, and he serves on the board of
the Hurston/Wright Foundation. Tope was educated at Morehouse College, and the University of Oxford, where he earned two Master’s degrees as a Rhodes Scholar. He
lives and works in Washington, DC.