Author of The Shadow King upbeat after Missing out on Booker Prize

ADDIS ABEBA – Ethiopian writer Maaza Mengiste who was among the three finalists for the Booker Prize 2020 has expressed optimism after missing out on the prize.

Scottish-American Douglas Stuart won the Prize for his debut novel, Shuggie Bain.

The Booker Prize, the UK’s most prestigious literary award, is open to any novel written in English by an author of any nationality.

Ethiopia’s Maaza Mengiste, who was shortlisted for her novel: The Shadow King, said her nomination had “shifted the conversation around prizes”.

Maaza has congratulated to both the winner of the 2020 Booker Prize, Douglas Stuart, and the other shortlisted writer, a fellow African writer author Tsitsi Dangarembga.

“My sincerest congrats to each of the other shortlisted writers,” she said. “We have shifted the conversation around prizes. This work continues”.

The Award-winning Zimbabwean author Dangarembga has also promised to “keep on writing and telling our stories”. She was shortlisted for her latest book, This Mournable Body.

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Agencies, staff writer