Commonwealth Short Story Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 7 (2018) Winner
Efua Traoré
エフア・トラオレ
Efua Traoré
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- a small town in southern Nigeria
- Nationality
- Nigeria, Germany
- Languages
- English, German
- Residence History
- Nigeria (birthplace and upbringing) → France (resided) → Germany (resided)
Career
- Occupations
- Writer, Children's author, Short story writer
- Active Years
- 2018-
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Commonwealth Short Story Prize (regional) | True Happiness | 短編 | Commonwealth Foundation | Won |
| 2019 | The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition | Children of the Quicksands | 児童文学 | The Times / Chicken House | Won |
| 2022 | Waterstones Children's Book Prize (shortlisted) | Children of the Quicksands | 児童書 | Waterstones | Nominated |
| 2019 | Munich Literaturreferat YA Literature grant | Die Hüter des Schlafes (The Guardians of Sleep) | 助成金 | Literaturhaus München / Munich Literaturreferat | Awarded |
Commonwealth Short Story Prize (regional)
2018
Work:
True Happiness
Category:
短編
Organization:
Commonwealth Foundation
Result:
Won
The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition
2019
Work:
Children of the Quicksands
Category:
児童文学
Organization:
The Times / Chicken House
Result:
Won
Waterstones Children's Book Prize (shortlisted)
2022
Work:
Children of the Quicksands
Category:
児童書
Organization:
Waterstones
Result:
Nominated
Munich Literaturreferat YA Literature grant
2019
Work:
Die Hüter des Schlafes (The Guardians of Sleep)
Category:
助成金
Organization:
Literaturhaus München / Munich Literaturreferat
Result:
Awarded
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Children of the Quicksands
2021 Children's fantasyA children's fantasy novel drawing on Nigerian culture and folklore. Exploring dreams, family bonds and mysterious quicksands, the protagonists confront supernatural and real-world challenges.
folkloredreams vs. realityfamilynature and spirits
The House of Shells
2022 Children's fictionA children's novel using shells and memory as symbolic motifs to explore themes of growing up and belonging.
coming of agememorybelonging
Die Hüter des Schlafes (The Guardians of Sleep)
2019 YA fantasy (German)A YA novel written in German about guardians connected to sleep and dreams, blending fantastical elements with a coming-of-age narrative.
dreamsguardianshipcoming of age
Bibliography
- Children of the Quicksands (2021)
- The House of Shells (2022)
- Die Hüter des Schlafes (The Guardians of Sleep) (2019)
- Short story 'True Happiness'
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- narrative drawing on folklore and oral traditionselements of magical realism and the fantasticalconcise, poetic prose tailored for children
- Recurring Motifs
- dreams and sleepsand and quicksandsspirits and guardiansfamily and roots
Legacy
Efua Traoré is recognized as a children's author who blends Nigerian and German cultural backgrounds. With awards for short fiction and children's novels, she is becoming an influential voice for younger readers.
Trivia
- She has a Nigerian-German cultural background.
- Won the Africa regional Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2018.
- Won The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition in 2019.
- Official website: https://efua-traore.com/