Abi Daré wins the inaugural Climate fiction prize

Nigerian writer Abi Daré has won the inaugural Climate fabrication prize for her caller And So I Roar, the follow-up to her bestselling debut The Girl with the Louding Voice.

Daré was announced arsenic the victor of the £10,000 prize astatine a ceremonial successful London connected Wednesday evening.

“I americium inactive somewhat stunned but truthful honoured and thrilled,” she said. “As a Black British-Nigerian woman, receiving this prize is simply a reminder that we bash not request to hold for support to measurement into planetary conversations oregon to contort our stories to acceptable a definite lens.”

And So I Roar by Abi Daré. Photograph: Sceptre

The Girl with the Louding Voice, published successful 2020, tells the communicative of Adunni, a 14-year-old Nigerian miss who is forced to wed an older antheral earlier being sold into home servitude.

And So I Roar begins with Adunni being excited to enrol successful schoolhouse successful Lagos earlier being summoned backmost to her location village, Ikati. Daré said that she did not commencement the publication intending to constitute astir the clime crisis. “I wanted to research the lives of agrarian women and girls navigating inequality, soundlessness and survival. But the deeper I went, the much I saw however biology illness bleeds into everything, however successful galore parts of agrarian Africa, clime injustice is much felt than understood,” she said.

Author and judging seat Madeleine Bunting described And So I Roar arsenic “a publication of existent vigor and passionateness which some horrifies and entertains”, and a “story of however the clime situation tin provoke societal crisis, wherever often women and children are the victims.

“Despite the tragedy, Daré holds religion successful the spot of individuals and relationships and her hopefulness leaves america inspired,” she added.

Climate fabrication “is often rooted successful the planetary north, truthful having a communicative acceptable successful Africa acknowledged similar this means a large deal,” Daré said erstwhile she was shortlisted. “Africa accounts for conscionable 4% of planetary c emissions, yet faces immoderate of the harshest effects of the clime crisis. A prize similar this matters due to the fact that it creates abstraction for stories that amusement however profoundly connected we each are and however fabrication tin unfastened hearts wherever information unsocial mightiness struggle.”

Essex-based Daré was calved successful Lagos and studied instrumentality astatine the University of Wolverhampton, followed by a master’s successful planetary task absorption astatine Glasgow Caledonian University and a originative penning people astatine Birkbeck, University of London. In 2023, she acceptable up The Louding Voice Foundation to supply acquisition scholarships to women and girls successful Nigeria.

“I anticipation this infinitesimal encourages much writers, particularly those from under-represented backgrounds, to research the links betwixt environment, individuality and justice,” said Daré.

Other books connected the inaugural shortlist were The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, Briefly Very Beautiful by Roz Dineen, The Morningside by Téa Obreht, and Orbital by Samantha Harvey, which won past year’s Booker prize.

Joining Bunting connected this year’s judging sheet was the writer Nicola Chester; clime activistic and writer Tori Tsui; broadcaster and writer David Lindo, besides known arsenic “the municipality birder”; and Hay festival sustainability manager Andy Fryers.