[5] The Caine Prize is a registered charity with the aim of bringing African writing to a wider audience through an annual literary award.

[2] The prize was first awarded in 2000, to the Sudanese writer Leila Aboulela for her short story "The Museum", at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair in Harare.

The winner is announced at a dinner in July, formerly held in Oxford but most recently at SOAS, University of London,[6] to which the shortlisted candidates are all invited.

Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, Sir Michael's widow, was founding president of the council and Jonathan Taylor the first Chair.

… The problem now is that many writers are skewing their written perspectives to fit what they imagine will sell to the West and the judges of the Caine Prize.