Caine Prize for African Writing
1 appearances
-
Edition 13 (2012) Winner
Rotimi Babatunde
ロティミ・ババトゥンデ
Rotimi Babatunde
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria
- Nationality
- Nigerian
- Languages
- English, Yoruba
- Residence History
- Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
Career
- Occupations
- Writer, Playwright
- Active Years
- 2006-
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obafemi Awolowo University | — | — | — | — | Nigeria |
Obafemi Awolowo University
Country:
Nigeria
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Caine Prize for African Writing | Bombay's Republic | Short story | Caine Prize | Winner |
| — | Meridian Tragic Love Story Competition | — | — | BBC World Service | Winner |
| — | Cyprian Ekwensi Prize for Short Stories (AWF) | — | — | AWF | Winner |
| 2015 | Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award | The Collected Tricks of Houdini | Short story | The Sunday Times | Longlisted |
Caine Prize for African Writing
2012
Work:
Bombay's Republic
Category:
Short story
Organization:
Caine Prize
Result:
Winner
Meridian Tragic Love Story Competition
Organization:
BBC World Service
Result:
Winner
Cyprian Ekwensi Prize for Short Stories (AWF)
Organization:
AWF
Result:
Winner
Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award
2015
Work:
The Collected Tricks of Houdini
Category:
Short story
Organization:
The Sunday Times
Result:
Longlisted
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Bombay's Republic
2012 Short storyA short story about a Nigerian soldier enlisted to fight as an allied soldier in Burma during the Second World War. It uses dark humour and soaring prose to expose the exploitative nature of the colonial project and the psychology of independence.
ColonialismWarIdentityMigration and choice
An Infidel In The Upper Room
2006 Play (reading)A play presented as a reading at the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs in London.
Religious conflictIndividual vs community
The Bonfire of the Innocents (Elddopet)
2008 PlayA play staged at Riksteatern in Stockholm (Swedish title: Elddopet).
RitualSocial tensions
A Shroud For Lazarus
2009 PlayA play performed at the Halcyon Theatre in Chicago.
MortalityRedemption and rebirth
Feast
2013 PlayA play staged at the Young Vic Theatre; performed on 25 January 2013.
CelebrationCommunity breakdown and renewal
The Collected Tricks of Houdini
2015 Short storyA short story that was longlisted for the 2015 Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award.
Craft and illusionMemory
Bibliography
- Little Drops (contributed stories/poems)
- A Volcano of Voices (contributed)
- Die Aussenseite des Elementes (contributed)
- Bombay's Republic (short story)
- The Collected Tricks of Houdini (short story)
- An Infidel In The Upper Room (play)
- The Bonfire of the Innocents / Elddopet (play)
- A Shroud For Lazarus (play)
- Feast (play)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Poetic and powerful proseDark humour woven into narrativeDramatic structures suited for the stage
- Recurring Motifs
- Legacy of colonialismWar and soldiers' experiencesConflicts of migration/mobilityReligious and ritual imagery
Legacy
Winner of the Caine Prize and selected for Hay Festival's Africa39, he is regarded as a notable contemporary African writer. His plays and short stories have been staged and published internationally, and he is recognised for works addressing colonialism and migration.
Quotes
-
...ambitious, darkly humorous and in soaring, scorching prose exposes the exploitative nature of the colonial project and the psychology of independence.
Source: Bernardine Evaristo (chair judge, Caine Prize) (2012)
Trivia
- Won the Caine Prize in 2012.
- Named to Hay Festival's Africa39 list in 2014.
- "The Collected Tricks of Houdini" was longlisted for the 2015 Sunday Times short story award.
- Born in Ado-Ekiti and lives in Ibadan.