Caine Prize: Meet the first co-winners of African writing award

Available for over a year

The Caine Prize for African Writing has been championing literature from the continent for almost a quarter of a century, granting early recognition to writers such as NoViolet Bulawayo and Binyavanga Wainaina. But this year the award for a short story by an African writer published in English - which had a record-breaking 297 entries from 28 different countries - has broken new ground with victory for a joint entry. Senegalese married couple Mame Bougouma Diene and Woppa Diallo won for their story A Soul of Small Places. They told Newsday’s Victoria Uwonkunda how they were feeling the morning after the award ceremony. Mame: “It’s a lot to take in. The story could not have been written if I hadn’t met Woppa.” Woppa: “The story is simply my life… my fights against gender-based violence.” (Pic: Mame Bougouma Diene, Woppa Diallo and baby; Credit: Woppa Diallo)