The annual literary awards organised by the Accra International Book Festival (AIBF) is to be named after retired Ghanaian surgeon and poet, Professor Lade Wosornu.

The Book Festival in a statement Thursday announced the literary prize formerly the AIBF Literary Awards would now be called the Lade Wosornu Prize for Literature.

The components of the literary prize now in its second year still remains the same. The awards include the First Book Award, Reading Promoters Award and the Independent Writer’s Award.

It was instituted in 2018 to celebrate the works of young and established writers that have the power to reshape the world for good.

Previous winners include; ace Ghanaian broadcast journalist and host of StandPoint, Oheneyire Gifty Anti, host of Citi Breakfast Show, Bernard Koku Avle, Sports Editor at Peace FM, Dan Kweku Yeboah and poet Celestine Nudanu.

Festival Director, Kwabena Brakopowers noted the renaming of the literary awards after the poet “is our giant commitment toward the celebration of Ghanaians who have contributed in repositioning the country on the global literary map.”

“We need to celebrate these men and women,” he said, adding the decision represents the Book Festival’s “way of sparking a literary revolution in the country.”

Professor Lade Wosornu is a renowned academic who has three collections of poetry works to his credit; Ete & Other Poems, Celestial Bride & Other Poems and Journey Without Ends & Other Poems.

Some of his poems include, Desert Rivers, The Master Brewer, and Journey Without End among others.

As a constant voice in Ghana’s literary landscape, Professor Wosornu has contributed essays and articles on major health issues.

Source: Adomonline.com