The judge for the first year of the prize (for seniors, 18+) was defaulted to Kadija George Sesay, as the time to read the poem entries was shortened, with not enough time to send them to Professor Dawes, the proposed judge. The winner for the seniors category is Sekou ‘Omid Wisdom’ Dibassey for his poem, ’Until We Are Heard Second prize goes to Kolawole Faith for ‘It is Too late’. Third Prize goes to Sheriff Jaiteh for his poem, ‘The Desert and the Sea’. The winner for this special themed poem category ‘No To back way’ (all age groups) is Habib Gaye with his poem no way to back way selected as the best submission. Highly recommended was Edrissa Baldeh ‘When Will My Tears Dry’. The judges, Writers Association of The Gambia (WAG), represented by Mr Hassoum Ceesay , said that both poems were cited as having ‘Direct, rich diction and a consistent rhyme scheme.’ The African Homecomers Collective have donated a trophy to the winner of each group (to be engraved). The readers and supporters of the competition highly praised all entries, and encouraged people to participate in the competitions in 2016. Details to be announced later this year. Next year, the prize giving will take place on or near 27 May, in honour of the passing of Dr. Lenrie Peters. The African Poetry Library is a new Reading Library in The Gambia, established by the African Poetry Book Fund (APBF), located at the NCAC offices in Fajara. Press release from NCAC/SABLE]]>
