Ever wondered what goes on in the judging panels of literary prizes? We speak to Ebissé Wakjira Rouw, an Ethiopian-Dutch literary editor, publisher, co-founder of Dipsaus – a multi-media organisation that specialises in amplifying the voices and lived experiences of Black and People of Colour in the Netherlands. Ebissé was also a judge for the 2020 AKO Caine Prize for African Writing.

In the first of our two-part conversation, we use the music of Destiny’s Child, Luniz & Jodeci to discuss the position that literary prizes occupy within the African landscape, and the process of judging the 2020 Caine Prize for Africa Writing. 

Ebissé also answers listeners questions submitted via our social media handles. Tune in next week for Part Two of our conversation when we discuss in detail, Black Lives Matter & publishing while Black in the Netherlands and Europe.

Keep up to date with Ebissé by visiting dipsaus.org. Follow DipsausPodcast on Twitter: Twitter.com/DipsausPodcast and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dipsauspodcast

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @BooksAndRhymes. Tweet your thoughts by using #BooksAndRhymes.

Listen to playlist of the songs referenced in this episode on Spotify and Deezer

The song you heard in the intro and outro of this podcast is titled: Reset by Meakoom (Meakoom) the song is available for purchase on Bandcamp

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