BEST OF THE BEST: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Emerges Winner

Yes, award-winning author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie' s novel "Half Of A Yellow Sun" has won the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction  "Best of the Best" for the last decade (2006-2015) by both the public vote and a 10-man panel making up of chairs of judges who were asked to pick their "best of the best" winner from the last decade.

Chimamanda's Biafran war novel  "Half of A Yellow Sun"  which tell the tale of three lives engulfed by the 1960 Nigerian war, of human suffering, hatred and division was named "Best of the Best" along side books by nine other authors.

According to  Author and Journalist, Muriel Gray, who chaired the judging panel in 2007 when Chimamanda won the award,  "Chimamanda's achievement makes Half of a Yellow Sun not just a worthy winner of this most special of prizes, but a benchmark for excellence in fiction writing.".     I most certainly agree.

In an interview with Women's Prize for Fiction ( Btw i transcribed it from voice to text), she had this to say, Excerpts:

 "Being chosen as the best of the best is wonderful for my ego. It's a very nice ego brandishing tool. but it's really an honor........when you are writing you don't know what is going to happen. you are alone in your study for months, for years to write a book. you send it out to the world, it's like sending your child that you love very much, not knowing if this child will embrace by the world. and so when it happens...and for me this is a wondrous embrace to be selected best of the best......"

BRAVO Chimamanda for this feat. We are proud of you.

For this reason I'm so going to read "half of a yellow sun" for real this time although I have seen the movie of the same name (an adaptation of the novel).


Below are the 10 winners of the Bailey Women's Prize for Fiction  award "Best of the Best" for the last decade.

2006 - On Beauty by Zadie Smith 
2007 - Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
2008 - The Road Home by Rose Tremain 
2009 - Home by Marilynne Robinson 
2010 - The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver 
2011 - The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht 
2012 - The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
 2013 - May We Be Forgiven by AM Homes
2014 - A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride 
2015 - How to Be Both by Ali Smith