Nigerian born writer, speaker and activist OluTimehin Adegbeye emerged the winner of the 2019 Gerald Kraak Prize. The announcement was made on Thursday night, 23rd May 2019, at the Gerald Kraak Prize ceremony in Johannesburg. She received the award for her nonfiction piece, “Mothers and Men.”

 

The judges described her piece as, “a sensitive memoir casting new light on questions of r**e, secondary victimisation and motherhood.” This year, prize anthology “The Heart of the Matter” also launched.

 

OluTimehin Adegbeye is notable for her works which focus on issues like gender, women’s rights, s*x, sexuality and s****l violence, urban poverty and sustainable development.

 

On winning the Gerald Kraak Prize worth R25,000, she shared her joy on Twitter.

 

 

OluTimehin wrote on Twitter,

“As you might imagine, I am giddy with joy and pride…. This prize means a lot and the love from so many people I respect and admire means even more.

“I am so full of joy. Thank you so much to everyone who has sent me congratulations. And special thanks to my #Afrifem sisters and family without whom this essay could never have been written. More coherence later; for now, just pure, pure joy. #GeraldKraak2019”

 

Jacana Literary Foundation and The Other Foundation founded the Gerald Kraak award in 2016. They founded it in honour of the late activist Gerald Kraak. It aims to honour writing and photography by Africans which “provoke thought on the topics of gender, social justice and sexuality.”

 

The 2017 inaugural prize had gone to Ugandan-born Kenyan photographer, Sarah Waiswa. Also winning it was Kenyan writer Farah Ahamed. Meanwhile, the twelve shortlisted pieces appeared in the inaugural anthology, Pride and Prejudice: African Perspectives on Gender, Social Justice and Sexuality.

 

 

Nigerian Pwaangulongii Dauod won the 2018 prize. Meanwhile, the 22 shortlisted works appeared in the prize anthology, “As You Like It”. Like the two anthologies before it, Jacana Media published “The Heart of the Matter”.

 

TED Lead Curator Chris Anderson chose her TED talk, “Who Belongs in a City?” as one of the ten most notable talks of 2017. Adegbeye is also a Carrington Youth Fellow and a Women Deliver Young Leader.

 

Some of her writings have appeared in Latterly Magazine, Premium Times, This Is Africa, StyleMANIA, Essays Magazine, Klassekampen and Women’s Asia 21.