eBook: The Daily Assortment of Astonishing Things and Other Stories - The Caine Prize for African Writing 2016

This collection brings together the five 2016 shortlisted stories, along with stories written at the Caine Prize Writers’ Workshop, which took place April 2016. Now in its 17th year, The Caine Prize for African Writing has become an established prize on the literature calendar attracting high-calibre writers from all over the continent. The winner will be revealed at an event taking place on Monday 4th July at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. In celebration of the award and to help bring African fiction to a wider audience, New Internationalist is delighted to publish The Daily Assortment of Astonishing Things and Other Stories, an anthology that includes not only this years’ five short-listed stories but also a further twelve stories that are the result of the Writers’ Workshop. The Shortlist: Abdul Adan (Somalia/Kenya) for ‘The Lifebloom Gift’ published in The Gonjon Pin and Other Stories: The Caine Prize for African Writing 2014 (New Internationalist, United Kingdom, 2014). His work has appeared in African magazines Kwani, Jungle Jim, Gambit, Okike, Storytime, SCARF and elsewhere. He was a participant in the 2014 Caine Prize workshop in Zimbabwe, and is a founding member of the Jalada collective. Read Abdul's story here Lesley Nneka Arimah (Nigeria) for ‘What it Means When a Man Falls From the Sky’ published in Catapult (Catapult, USA, 2015). Lesley Nneka Arimah is a Nigerian writer living in Minneapolis. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s and other publications. When she isn't spreading peace and joy on Twitter, Arimah is at work on a collection of short stories (What it Means When a Man Falls From the Sky) forthcoming in 2017 from Riverhead Books. There are rumours about a novel... Read Lesley's story here Tope Folarin (Nigeria) for ‘Genesis’ published in Callaloo (Johns Hopkins University Press, USA, 2014). Tope Folarin won the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2013, and in 2014 he was named in the Africa39 list of the most promising African writers under 39. In addition, his work has been published in various anthologies and journals. He lives in Washington DC. Read Tope's story here Bongani Kona (Zimbabwe) for ‘At your Requiem’ published in Incredible Journey: Stories That Move You (Burnet Media, South Africa, 2015). Bongani Kona is a freelance writer and contributing editor of Chimurenga. His writing has appeared in Mail & Guardian, Rolling Stone (South Africa), Sunday Times and other publications and websites. He is also enrolled as a Masters student in the Creative Writing department at the University of Cape Town. Read Bongani's story here Lidudumalingani (South Africa) for ‘Memories we Lost’ published in Incredible Journey: Stories That Move You (Burnet Media, South Africa, 2015). Lidudumalingani is a writer, filmmaker and photographer. He was born in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, in a village called Zikhovane. Lidudumalingani has published short stories, non-fiction and criticism in various publications. His films have been screened at various film festivals. Read Lidudumalingani's story here 'Africa’s most important literary award.' - International Hearld Tribune 'Dazzling and splendidly diverse.' - The Times, UK eBook, 240 pages