Who will win Africa’s most prestigious literary Prize?

Is it South Africa’s Penny Busetto, author of award-winning novel The Story of Anna P, as Told by Herself  a book described as a careful and delicate novel that explores the nature of memory, identity and ethical choices.

Or is it Tram 83 a book written by Democratic Republic of Congo’s Fiston Mwanza Mujila, about life in the DRC and a writer's walk through it.

Or whether What Will People Say? by another South African, Rehana Rossouw, a book described by Imraan Coovadia as one of the most interesting and unexpected pieces of fiction published in South Africa in recent years.

It is a three-way literary battle on who will win Africa’s most prestigious literature Prize.

However, as the race moves closer would Tram 83, one of the longlisted books for the Man Booker Prize International make the cut? How much weight should one place on an assessment of the tastes of the judges? Will Ghanian Academic Professor Ato Quayson, who chairs the jury, sway it towards the South African authors on the list? Would the other two judges, Molara Wood and Zukiswa Wanner choose a winner based on literary merit or on popular opinion?

The Etisalat Prize for Literature was created by Etisalat Nigeria in 2013 and it is the first ever pan-African prize to celebrate first-time African writers of published fiction books.

The prize aims to serve as a platform for the discovery of new creative talent out of the continent and invariably promote the burgeoning publishing industry in Africa.

The third annual Etisalat Prize comes with prize money of £15 000 (about 6 million naira) and a fellowship at the University of East Anglia under the mentorship of Professor Giles Foden, the award-winning author of The Last King of Scotland.

Zimbabwean NoViolet Bulawayo won the inaugural Etisalat Prize for We Need New Names in 2013, and Songeziwe Mahlangu won the 2014 edition for Penumbra.

Who do you think would clinch the award this year? Take the poll below and join the conversation using the hashtag #EtisalatPrize2015 #EtisalatPrizeForLiterature.

READ: 'Tram 83' by Fiston Mwanza Mujila [Book Review]