Abi Daré Wins The Inaugural Climate Fiction Prize With, 'And So I Roar'

Abi Daré, the Nigerian best-selling author of her debut novel, "The Girl With The Louding Voice", wins the inaugural Climate Fiction Prize.

Abi Daré| © Ellie Smith

Abi Daré, the Nigerian best-selling author of her debut novel, "The Girl With The Louding Voice", wins the inaugural Climate Fiction Prize for her second novel, "And So I Roar", a sequel.

The Climate Fiction Prize celebrates novels that tackle and inform the public about the threat of climate crisis and its perceived solutions through the power of storytelling. The prize was launched in June 2024 at the Hay Festival. It awards the winner a cash prize of £10,000.

Expressing her shock and excitement at the prize announcement, Abi Daré revealed the story was initially intended to explore the harsh realities of the "lives of rural women and girls navigating inequality, silence and survival". However, the trajectory of the story later explored the environmental collapse and the tenets of climate injustice in rural Africa as it went deeper.

As a Black British-Nigerian woman, Abi Daré conceived the prize-winning work as a reminder that we require no permission "to step into global conversations or to contort our stories to fit a certain lens".

Describing the essence of fiction in reflecting reality, she said:

"This prize matters because fiction lets us bear witness and makes the abstract real. It gets under your skin and moves the heart in a way data alone cannot.“

The Chair of Judges, Madeleine Bunting, described And So I Roar as:

"A book of real energy and passion which both horrifies and entertains with a cast of compelling characters, a story of how the climate crisis can provoke social crisis where often women and children are the victims. Despite the tragedy, Abi Daré holds faith in the strength of individuals and relationships and her hopefulness leaves us inspired."

In winning the inaugural Climate Fiction Prize, Abi Darè's And So I Roar was shortlisted among other works from talented authors, including The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, Briefly Very Beautiful by Roz Dineen, Orbital by Samantha Harvey, and The Morningside by Téa Obreht.

We hereby congratulate Abi Daré