Chidi Ebere won the £10,000 (about $12,990) Royal Society of Literature Christopher Bland Prize for Now I Am Here. The award honors the best debut by an author over 50 years old.
Chair of judges Shaparak Khorsandi commented: "The lightness of touch when telling such powerful, impactful stories is what made this our favorite. There were many really strong contenders for this award, and I am so happy we chose Chidi as our winner."
Ebere added: "The spiritual storm calms, the emotional dust settles, and I'm left feeling honoured to have had so much support on my literary journey.... And the judges, they took the time to consider Now I Am Here, and then blessed it with the 2024 Christopher Bland Prize. That one sent good vibrations through the blood and bones! Thank you.
"Later, having finally managed to control the spontaneous cartwheels, and with cheeks aching from the longest grin in modern human history, a voice speaks from deep within, 'It's all right to never give up; it's fine to follow one's own path; when it comes to writing, you're never too old to put pen to paper.' I can agree with that."