Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been named ‘Best of the Best’ of the winners of the second decade of the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction.

The announcement was made Monday, at a live event in the Piccadilly Theatre in London.

The ‘Best of the Best’ was chosen from the ten novels that have won the prize in the past decade. The chairs of the judging panels read from each of the ten prize-winning novels before the ‘Best of the Best’ announcement.

Adichie commented; “I have a lot of respect for the books that have won in the past ten years and also for the books that have been shortlisted – I feel I am in very good company. To be selected as ‘Best of the Best’ of the past decade is such an honour. I’m very grateful and very happy.”

Half of a Yellow Sun won the Bailey’s Women’s Prize in 2007 (when it was still known as the Orange Prize).

The announcement marks the climax of celebrations to mark twenty years of the prize.

In a double win for Adichie, Half Of A Yellow Sun was also the public’s choice for the “Best of the Best” award in vote hosted on the BBC website.

The Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction is the world’s most prestigious annual book award for fiction written by a woman. Established in 1996, it celebrates and promotes fiction by women throughout the world to the widest range of readers possible.

— PremiumTimes