The award, which is one of the richest in the world, is now in its 10th year. For the past decade it has been celebrating eight authors each year for their achievements in fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama. The large grants given to the winners are intended to “support their writing and allow them to focus on their work regardless of financial concerns”. Dangarembga Nervous Conditions’s debut novel was the first book to be published in English by a black woman from Zimbabwe, with the PEN Pinter Prize. In September 2020, activist author This Mournable Body’s novel was shortlisted for the Booker Prize the same week he was arrested during peaceful anti-corruption protests in Harare – he remains in custody. When she found out that the judges – who remain anonymous throughout the proceedings – selected her for the Windham-Campbell Award, Dangarembga admitted that she had been waiting for this news all her life, “not always believing but always hoping”. Quick guide
Winners of the Windham-Campbell 2022 Award
projection Tsitsi Dangarembga (Zimbabwe) – fiction Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu (Zimbabwe) – fiction Margo Jefferson (United States) – pedestrian Emmanuel Iduma (Nigeria) – pedestrian speech Winsome Pinnock (United Kingdom) – drama Sharon Bridgforth (United States) – drama Wong May (Ireland / Singapore / China) – poetry Zaffar Kunial (United Kingdom) – poetry Thank you for your response. He said: “I desperately needed this award, as a writer working on the African continent. Few countries support creativity or the arts in a meaningful way. “Zimbabwe is among those who do less.” “Now I will finally be able to slow down, breathe and ponder my universe, allowing me to do the work I want to do the way I want to do it,” he added. “So basically the award gives life.” Jefferson agreed that he felt “happy” to be selected for the award. The former New York Times staff writer has published two books so far, a 2006 biography of Michael Jackson and a 2015 memoir, Negroland, with a second memoir expected to be released next month. Her books skillfully explore how we understand gender, race, and mental illness, with Negroland being called “fascinating” by Guardian critic Colin Grant. “I’m in the Gobi Desert – that’s what my friends and I say when we’re having a hard time writing a song,” Jefferson said. “That’s how Edith Wharton described being in the middle of a novel.” The Windham-Campbell Prize helps writers get through such “deserts,” he explained, because it “honors the work you have done,” but it also supports the work you are planning and hoping to do. Maybe your plan is clear. Maybe you are still in a dream space with half-formed thoughts and images. The award says: “Trust your life as a writer”. The British writer Pinocchio, the first black woman to stage a play at the National Theater, is winning her award for Outstanding Contribution to World Theater. The award described her plays, which include Leave Takeing and Rockets and Blue Lights, as “committed to taking formal risks and asking difficult questions about the role of art in shaping cultures and institutions”. Like Dangarembga, Pinnock was enthusiastic about the “freedom” that the prize money would give her, allowing her to “experiment” and “work on projects in a stress-free way.” Along with Pinnock on the list of winners is her fellow playwright Sharon Bridgforth, who describes her work, a kind of mix of poetry and drama, as “performance literature.” The composition of the eight men is completed by Zimbabwean novelist Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, Nigerian writer and photographer Emmanuel Iduma and poets Wong May and Zaffar Kunial. Michael Kelleher, director of the Windham-Campbell Awards, said he was proud to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the award with what he believes is “the most exciting recipient list to date”. He added: “Guided by a pioneering group of global female voices, the ambitious, skillful and moving work of these writers bridges the gap between the history of nations and a deep personal sense of self.” Writer Donald Windham and his partner, actor Sandy M Campbell, had the idea for an award that would highlight literary achievements and financially support writers to focus on their work. When Campbell died unexpectedly in 1988, his estate was left to Windham, under an agreement that the money would be combined with Windham’s to determine the prizes. Yale took over after Windham’s death in 2010, and the first winners of the awards were announced in 2013. Previous recipients include Yiyun Li, Tessa Hadley and Edmund de Waal.
