World literary celebrity

Chinua Achebe, one of the world's most influential authors, has been chosen to receive the 2010 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize. With approximately $300,000 from silent film stars Dorothy and Lillian Gish, the Gish Prize is one of the largest and most prestigious awards in the arts.

Gish Prize recipients are nominated by the worldwide arts community and selected for their unprecedented impact in their chosen fields.



Nigerian author Chinua Achebe

Achebe will receive the prize and a silver medallion on October 27, 2010, at the Hudson Theatre, Millennium Broadway, New York City. Leaders of the arts including curator Lowery Sims, former NEA chair Jane Alexander, PEN president Kwame Anthony Appiah, author Ekwueme Michael Thelwell, poet Sonia Sanchez, and musician Baba Ola Jagun will be among the presenters and guests celebrating Achebe's work and his impact on the international diasporas of African fiction and voices.

"When I was a boy, growing up in Nigeria, becoming a novelist was a far-away dream," says Achebe. "Now it is a reality for many African writers, not just myself. The Gish Prize recognizes the long journey my fellow colleagues and I have taken, and I am proud and grateful for that."

Now in its 17th year, the annual Gish Prize continues to reflect the spirit of the pioneering Gish sisters, paying tribute to artistic trailblazers who have redefined their craft. Gish Prize recipients have shaped the cultural landscape in drama, music, dance, art, architecture, lighting design, film, and literature.Achebe joins an impressive list of past Gish Prize winners including Robert Redford, Ornette Coleman, Merce Cunningham and Frank Gehry.

Source: Saharareporters

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