Khadija Abdalla Bajaber Wins Inaugural Graywolf Press Africa Prize

Apr 05, 2018

Khadija Abdalla Bajaber has been selected as the first winner of the Graywolf Press Africa Prize, which is awarded for a first novel manuscript by an African author primarily residing in Africa. Bajaber’s manuscript, titled The House of Rust, was chosen from nearly 200 submissions by judge A. Igoni Barrett, author of Blackass, in conjunction with the Graywolf editors. Bajaber, who lives in Mombasa, Kenya, will receive a $12,000 advance. In addition, 66th&2nd will publish The House of Rust in Italy, a partnership that will continue with the Graywolf Press Africa Prize going forward. Planned for publication in 2020, The House of Rust is the story of a young Mombasa-born girl who goes to the sea to search for her fisherman father, accompanied by a scholar’s cat.