Nigerian Author Abi Daré has won the inaugural Climate fiction prize for her novel ‘And So I Roar’ at a ceremony in London on Wednesday evening.
The novel is the follow-up to her bestselling debut ‘The Girl with the Louding Voice’ .
Climate Fiction Prize
Abi Dare was announced as the winner of the £10,000 prize with her book ‘And So I Roar’ being adjudged the winner over other books including ‘Orbital’ by Samantha Harvey, which won last year’s Booker prize.
Speaking on the prize, Dare said
“I am still slightly stunned but so honoured and thrilled.
“As a Black British-Nigerian woman, receiving this prize is a reminder that we do not need to wait for permission to step into global conversations or to contort our stories to fit a certain lens.
Climate fiction “is often rooted in the global north, so having a story set in Africa acknowledged like this means a great deal.
“Africa accounts for just 4% of global carbon emissions, yet faces some of the harshest effects of the climate crisis. A prize like this matters because it creates space for stories that show how deeply connected we all are and how fiction can open hearts where data alone might struggle.” She concluded.
About the Book
‘And So I Roar’ begins with Adunni being excited to enrol in school in Lagos before being summoned back to her home village, Ikati.
Daré said that she did not start the book intending to write about the climate crisis. “I wanted to explore the lives of rural women and girls navigating inequality, silence and survival. But the deeper I went, the more I saw how environmental collapse bleeds into everything, how in many parts of rural Africa, climate injustice is more felt than understood,” she said.
The book is a sequel to her previous book ‘The Girl with the Louding Voice’, published in 2020, which tells the story of Adunni, a 14-year-old Nigerian girl who is forced to marry an older man before being sold into domestic servitude.
Author and judging chair Madeleine Bunting described ‘And So I Roar’ as “a book of real energy and passion which both horrifies and entertains”, and a “story of how the climate crisis can provoke social crisis, where often women and children are the victims.
“Despite the tragedy, Daré holds faith in the strength of individuals and relationships and her hopefulness leaves us inspired,” she added.
About Abi Dare
Essex-based Daré was born in Lagos and studied law at the University of Wolverhampton, followed by a master’s in international project management at Glasgow Caledonian University and a creative writing course at Birkbeck, University of London.
In 2023, she set up The Louding Voice Foundation to provide educational scholarships to women and girls in Nigeria.
“I hope this moment encourages more writers, especially those from under-represented backgrounds, to explore the links between environment, identity and justice,” Dare concluded.
