Nigerian writer Chris Abani has won this years  Hemmingway Foundation/PEN Award   The award made last month, was founded in 1976 by Mary Hemmingway in memory of her husband and to give recognition to distinguised works of fiction. 

Chris Abani won the award for his  novel Graceland the story of "Elvis, a teenage Elvis impersonator hoping to make his way out of the ghetto. Broke, beset by floods, and beatings by his alcoholic father, and with no job opportunities in sight, Elvis is tempted by a life of crime. Thus begins his odyssey into the dangerous underworld of Lagos, guided by his friend Redemption and accompanied by a restless hybrid of voices including The King of Beggars, Sunday, Innocent and Comfort."

Abani’s other works include "Kalakuta Republic" which chronicles his experiences at the hands of the Nigerian military in the 1980s and "Daphnes Lot" a book of exceptional poetry.