Grand Prix of Literary Associations
The Grand Prix of Literary Associations (GPLA) were launched in 2013 in Cameroon, in partnership with Brasseries du Cameroun and sponsorship by Castel Beer. The GPLA are defined as bilingual English-and-French literary prizes, some being awarded on the proposals of literary associations, especially in the "Research" and "Belles-Lettres" categories. The contest is open worldwide, both to authors and to literary associations that propose their works to the Jury. In the 2016 edition (GPLA 2016), more than one hundred works were submitted to the Jury by the endorsement of 69 associations from diverse  countries across the world. The shortlist was made up of nine works, three of them being from Cameroon, two from Nigeria, and four respectively from France / Morocco, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and Chad. Since the launch of the 2017 edition, books written in Spanish are also eligible to compete, alongside those in French and English that were formerly exclusively allowed. Among the 124 works registered for the pre-selections of the GPLA 2017, 16 books came from Spanish-speaking countries, and one of them was eventually awarded in the Research category. The prize also welcomes books written in African languages. In  the 2018 edition, a work written in Kikongo made the shortlist. The concept. According to the GPLA regulations, the "Research" and "Belles-Lettres" categories are open to recent works, published in the 18 months before the launch of each edition. Books have to be commended to the Jury by literary associations, or any cultural club active in literature. The "Presort Commission" readers, some from the GPLA team and others from the two associations awarded in the previous edition, read the pre-selected works and submit a shortlist to the jury. The Jury consists of at least nine members, in charge  of designating two winners, one from the Research category and the other from the Belles-Lettres. An author regularly competing for those prizes can be awarded three times, but a laureate cannot apply in the edition following his consecration. Another rule of the GPLA is that books self-published by their own authors, without any publishing house label, are allowed; the only condition being that they should be endorsed by literary associations. Other GPLA prizes. In addition to the prizes awarded in the Research and Belles-Lettres categories, there is a "Memory Grand Prix" (Grand prix de la mémoire ), awarded posthumously to an icon of literature; a "Grand Prix des Mécènes" is awarded to honour a writer's entire body of work; and the "Asso-Prize" recognizes the will and endeavours of an association for promoting literature. In the year 2017, two other related GPLA awards were introduced: the "Tam-tam Short Story Prize", and the "Prix Nnanga Kon". Rewards. The GPLA attributes a reward of about 1,000 US dollars and a more expensive media promotion for awarded authors and works. Many literary activities are also organized upon the awarded works, such as the "GPLA Essay Contest" (Concours de  Dissertation-GPAL), the "GPLA Student Day" (Journée de l’Etudiant-GPAL), just to name a few of them. Report on the winners’ designation procedures. The GPLA "Report on the winners’ designation procedures" is a document published for every edition two or three years after its awards ceremony. The report aims to show transparency on GPLA methods and thus prevent any controversy around the laureates, but also to reinforce the reputation of objectivity that emerges from the contest. The Laureates. GPLA 2013 GPLA 2014 GPLA 2015 GPLA 2016 GPLA 2017 GPLA 2018 GPLA 2019