PRESS RELEASE

 

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN AFRICAN LITERATURE AWARDED TO MICERE MUGO BY ROYAL AFRICAN SOCIETY

 

30 November 2021 – The Royal African Society, presented The Lifetime Achievement award in African Literature, to Micere Mugo, at the Royal African Society’s Annual Lecture.

• – Micere Mugo is a Kenyan playwright, author, activist, instructor, and poet.
• – The 2021 award has been sponsored by Penguin Random House UK.

 

The Lifetime Achievement in African Literature award, presented by the Royal African Society, honours and pays tribute to those who have made a major contribution to African literature. The award for the 2021 recipient was presented by Deputy Director of the Royal African Society, Desta Haile. On 29 November, the ceremony took place at the Society’s Annual Lecture hosted at the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS). 

 

Micere Mugo is a playwright, author, activist, instructor, and poet from Kenya. Forced into exile from Kenya in 1982 for her activism, she has taught in Zimbabwe, and later in the United States where she is now a professor of literature in the Department of African American Studies at Syracuse University. Mugo’s publications include six books, a play co-authored with Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, and three monographs. Micere was a founder of the Pan African Community of Central New York and one of the organisation’s first presidents. She is also the founder and former president of the Syracuse-based United Women of Africa Organisation. Her many awards and honours include a Rockefeller Foundation Award for writing and publication), a Ford Foundation Award for research on African orature and human rights), and the Marcus Garvey Award from the Canadian Branch of U.N.I.A.

 

The first Lifetime Achievement in African Literature award was awarded to Margaret Busby, Britain’s youngest and first ever Black woman publisher, a true force in the industry since the 1960s. Founded at Africa Writes in 2019, the Lifetime Achievement in African Literature award is awarded to writers, academics, publishers, and translators with careers spanning 20 years or more, in recognition of their life-long achievement within the field of African literature.

 

Micere Mugo, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement in African Literature award said  “I am touched by the spirit behind the award, and the urgency of honouring people while they are still alive.”

Siena Parker, Social Impact Director at Penguin Random House UK, said: “It’s so important to recognise the tireless work of so many people over the years to celebrate and lift up literature from all cultures, including the African diaspora. We’re delighted to lend our support to this important lifetime achievement award as part of our broader efforts to ensure that books represent everyone.” 

 

ENDS

 

For more information, contact Sonia Foday at Royal African Society at sf30@soas.ac.uk

 

Notes to editors:

 

About Royal African Society

 

Royal African Society is a membership organisation that provides opportunities for people to connect, celebrate and engage critically with a wide range of topics and ideas about Africa today. We amplify African voices and interests in academia, business, politics, the arts and education, reaching millions of people globally.

 

About Penguin Random House UK​

 

At Penguin Random House we make books for everyone, because a book can change anyone. As the UK’s leading publisher we are home to some of the most brilliant authors in the world; including Margaret Atwood, Bernardine Evaristo, Malorie Blackman, Lee Child, Yuval Harari, Nigella Lawson, Charlie Mackesy, Ian McEwan, Nadiya Hussain, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Jamie Oliver, Philip Pullman, David Attenborough, Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith and Jacqueline Wilson; along with over 3,000 different Classics.

 

As part of our commitment to become an inclusive and representative employer and publisher, we have set out a number of key actions including a goal for new authors, and all teams at all levels to reflect the rich diversity of UK society. You can read more about our approach to inclusion here: 

https://www.penguin.co.uk/company/creative-responsibility/Inclusion.html

 

@PenguinUKBooks | penguin.co.uk