Babishai Niwe Poetry Award was founded by Beverley Nambozo Nsengiyunva, in 2008 as a prize for Ugandan women poets. It started out as a prize for the Ugandan women poets but this year, submissions where open to the entire continent.
Shortlisted poets were Suleiman Agbonkhianmen (Nigeria), Saba El Lazim (Sudan), Annetjie van Wynegaard (South Africa), Tom Jalio (Kenya), Nyachiro Lydia (Tanzania), Elizabeth Muchemwa (Zimbabwe), Fubaraibi Benstowe (Nigeria), Saka Aliyu (Nigeria), Moses Muyanja Kyeyune (Uganda), and Dorothie Ayebazibwe (Uganda).
This year’s judges were Joanne Arnott (Canada), Richard Ali (Nigeria), and Kgafela oa Magogodi (South Africa).
While at Storymoja Festival in Kenya, zamantungwa spoke to Beverley about the BN Poetry Award.
Three of the finalists, Dorothie Ayebazibwe from Uganda who was the second runner up, Saba El Lazim from Sudan and Tom Jalio from Kenya who’s poem. Here, the poets speak about their experience submitting and getting shortlisted for the BN Poetry Award and they also read their poems.
And finally tells about how BN Poetry Awards was named.
The Anthology launched is titled A Thousand Voices Rising which features the winning poems between 2009 and 2013. Follow BN Poetry on Twitter and Facebook and visit the official website for more information on how to get involved.