NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 7- Renowned Author, Ngugi wa Thiong’o is set to be the first African to be honored with the 2022 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature.
The 84-year-old author was named as the recipient of the award by judges David Treuer, Laila Lalami, and Mónica de la Torre.
The “Weep not, Child” author will also take home $50,000 (Ksh.5.6 million) with the judges noting his work to be of great honesty and sensitivity.
In a press statement, PEN America President, Ayad Akhtar described Thiong’o as, “a trailblazer and extraordinary commentator of our time and of the enduring poignancies of the human condition.”
The judges further said that “his refusal to be silenced and his insistence on the value of indigenous languages has inspired a generation of younger writers.”
Thiong’o, who has been a perennial Nobel Peace Prize contender, has written numerous works including plays, memoirs and novels.
The “River in Between” author will be honored alongside American comedian and screenwriter Elaine May and Playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury. They will receive the PEN/Mike Nichols Writing for Performance Award and the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award respectively.
The annual award is sponsored by Dmtiri Nabokov and named in honor of his father Vladimir Nabokov.
Founded in 2016, it recognizes living authors whose canon whether written in or translated to English represents the highest level of achievement in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and/or drama, and is of enduring originality and consummate craftsmanship.
