A NOVELIST and lecturer from the region has seen his debut novel earn international recognition.

Writer Kachi Ozumba, who lectures in creative writing at Teesside University, was shortlisted for the 2010 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book in the Africa region.

His book, The Shadow of a Smile, published last September, was included in a list of books of the year compiled by the Guardian newspaper.

The story focuses on a university graduate who finds himself in a Nigerian jail for a crime that did not happen. His fate is left in the hands of a corrupt and bureaucratic justice system.

Mr Ozumba, originally from Nigeria, said: “I studied philosophy in Nigeria, but I always wanted to write and teach writing.

“When I came over to Leeds to complete my MA I started to get a bit of recognition for my work, which gave me a lot of encouragement.”

Mr Ozumba is already a past winner of the Africa regional prize in the 2009 Commonwealth Short Story competition and winner of the 2006 Decibel Penguin Short Story Prize. He describes his first novel as being like an African Shawshank Redemption.