Lotus Prize for Literature
Encyclopedia
The Lotus Prize for Literature (also known as Lotus International Reward for Literature or The Lotus Prize for African and Asian Literature) was a literary award
presented annually to African and Asian authors by the Afro-Asian Writers' Association (also known as Association of Asian and African Writers).
The Bureau, as the Association was initially known, was founded in Sri Lanka in 1958. In 1962 it moved to Cairo with Youssef El-Sebai elected general secretary. The Bureau began to publish Lotus Magazine, a forum for short-stories, poetry, review of books and literary essays. The inaugural Lotus Prize was given in 1969 to Alex La Guma who was living in exile in London at the time. After the assassination of its secretary-general, the Bureau moved to Beirut, then Tunisia, and finally came back to Cairo. Lutfi El-Kholi became its secretary-general and when he died, the movement began to falter.
Literary award
A literary award is an award presented to an author who has written a particularly lauded piece or body of work. There are awards for forms of writing ranging from poetry to novels. Many awards are also dedicated to a certain genre of fiction or non-fiction writing . There are also awards...
presented annually to African and Asian authors by the Afro-Asian Writers' Association (also known as Association of Asian and African Writers).
The Bureau, as the Association was initially known, was founded in Sri Lanka in 1958. In 1962 it moved to Cairo with Youssef El-Sebai elected general secretary. The Bureau began to publish Lotus Magazine, a forum for short-stories, poetry, review of books and literary essays. The inaugural Lotus Prize was given in 1969 to Alex La Guma who was living in exile in London at the time. After the assassination of its secretary-general, the Bureau moved to Beirut, then Tunisia, and finally came back to Cairo. Lutfi El-Kholi became its secretary-general and when he died, the movement began to falter.
Selected winners
- 1969 Alex La GumaAlex La GumaAlex La Guma was a South African novelist, leader of the South African Coloured People’s Organisation and a defendant in the Treason Trial, whose works helped characterise the movement against the apartheid era in South Africa...
- 1970 Waleed Seif
- 1971 Sonomyn UdvalSonomyn UdvalSonomyn Udval was a Mongolian women's leader, politician and writer. Hailing from Dashinchilen sum of Bulgan Province, she was chairwoman of the Central Council of the Mongolian Trade Unions from 1956 until 1958, the first secretary and later chair of the Mongolian Writer's Union,...
- 1972 Hiroshi Noma
- 1973 Ngugi Wa Thiong'oNgugi wa Thiong'oNgũgĩ wa Thiong'o is a Kenyan author, formerly working in English and now working in Gĩkũyũ. His work includes novels, plays, short stories, and essays, ranging from literary and social criticism to children's literature...
- 1974 Youssef El-Sebai
- 1975 Kim Chi-HaKim Chi-HaKim Ji-ha is a Korean poet and playwright. He was a dissident under the Park regime. After accusing the regime of extracting false confessions with the use of torture, he was tried and sentenced to death, which was commuted to a life sentence and eventual release following a public outcry...
- 1975 Chinua AchebeChinua AchebeAlbert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe popularly known as Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic...
- 1976 Faiz Ahmed FaizFaiz Ahmed FaizFaiz Ahmad Faiz was a Pakistani intellectual, poet, and one of the most famous poets of the Urdu language. He was a member of the Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind and an avowed Marxist. In 1962, he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union...
- 1977 Subhas Mukhopadhyay
- 1978 Meja MwangiMeja MwangiMeja Mwangi is one of Kenya's leading novelists. Mwangi has worked in the film industry, including screenwriting, assistant directing, casting and location management....
- 1979 Antonio JacintoAntónio JacintoAntónio Jacinto, full name António Jacinto do Amaral Martins, born in Luanda, Angola 28 September 1924, died 23 June 1991 in Lisbon, Portugal, was an Angolan poet.-Biography:...
- 1980
- 1981 Bhisham SahniBhisham SahniBhisham Sahni भीष्म साहनी was a Hindi writer, playwright, and actor, most famous for his novel and television screenplay Tamas , a powerful and passionate account of the Partition of India...
- 1981 Makoto OdaMakoto Odawas a Japanese novelist, peace activist, academic and Time Asian Hero.-Early life and career:Oda was born in Osaka in 1932 and graduated from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Letters program, majoring in classical Greek philosophy and literature...
- 1982 Ataol BehramogluAtaol BehramogluAtaol Behramoğlu [* April 13, 1942 Çatalca near Istanbul].Is a prominent Turkish poet, translator and author.- Life :Ataol Behramoğlu graduated from the University of Ankara, Department of Russian Language and Literature in 1966. In 1970 he published his second book of verse “One Day Definitely”...
- 1983 José CraveirinhaJosé CraveirinhaJosé Craveirinha , was born in Maputo, Mozambique and is today considered the greatest poet of that country....
- Mahmoud DarwishMahmoud DarwishMahmoud Darwish was a Palestinian poet and author who won numerous awards for his literary output and was regarded as the Palestinian national poet...