Ellah Wakatama Allfrey

Ellah Wakatama OBE (born 16 September 1966) is a Zimbabwean-British Editor-at-Large at Canongate Books, a senior Research Fellow at Manchester University and Chair of the AKO Caine Prize for African Writing. She was the founding Publishing Director of the Indigo Press. A London-based editor and critic, she was on the judging panel of the 2017 International Dublin Literary Award and the 2015 Man Booker Prize.

Ellah Wakatama in 2019

Quotes

• "One doesn't just happen upon a belief that work must be meaningful, that our endeavours must be towards the well-being and betterment of our fellow human beings. It is something that is taught. And this college, is one of the places I learned that lesson."
  • Ellah wakayama Allfery ’88,(October 11, 2016)

• “This is a wonderful opportunity to be part of a team that has, over time, published with such great flair and innovation. I am excited to be joining Canongate and to have such an inspiring brief—to contribute to a list that reflects range, ambition, passion and a genuine belief in the power of writing to enrich and inform.”
  • Ella talks about her new position at Canongate,(June 14, 2019)

• “my kids joke that I’m going to die with a pencil in my hand”
  • An interview with Ella,(January 26,2020)

Quotes about person/work

• • said Jonathan Taylor CBE, chair of the Booker Prize Foundation,(October 11, 2016)

• “Her work has a strong international focus and interest, particularly in relation to Africa where she is closely involved in the recognition and reward of creative literary talent and with the development of relevant skills.”
  • said Jonathan Taylor CBE, chair of the Booker Prize Foundation,(October 11, 2016)

• “I particularly valued her chairmanship of the last Prize Dinner, where her exceptional knowledge of African literature was strongly displayed, as was her deep friendship with her fellow authors. I look forward to reading more of her work.”
  • Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, President of the Caine Prize, expressed her view on ella's work

• “Ellah is the best of the best when it comes to commissioning and editing. We are thrilled that she is joining Canongate. We need books that look beyond the horizon if we are to understand the challenging ways in which the world is changing, and those are the books that Ellah has found instinctively for more than two decades. I can’t wait to see which writers she champions first.”
  • Brickmore talks about Ellah joining Canongate,(June 14, 2019)