( CNN ) -- Nigerian writer Tope Folarin has been announced as the winner of this year 's Caine Prize for African Writing . The U.S.-based author scooped the accolade -- which has been described as Africa 's leading literary award -- for his short story `` Miracle , '' a tale of faith and deceit in an evangelical Nigerian church in Texas . `` Winning feels tremendous -- I still ca n't believe it , '' enthused the 31-year-old author . `` I feel like I 'm walking on air . '' Folarin spent a year writing the story , which explores the relationship between a blind pastor-prophet and his faithful congregation . `` It 's a community I know quite well , '' he explained . `` 'Miracle ' does have an autobiographical quality to it , because the dreams and desires described are ones I share as a writer in the Nigerian diaspora . '' Watch this : Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie cries over praise . The Washington D.C.-based author , who was born and raised in the U.S. but lived in Nigeria for a year , said that fellow members of the community had responded well to his story . But striking the right tone had its challenges . `` I spent a long time trying to get a particular voice down , and that was the greatest technical difficulty I had when writing the novel , '' Folarin said . `` Watching Woody Allen 's 'The Purple Rose of Cairo ' -- where a movie star walks off screen and into real life -- helped me to define that voice , and introduce the narrator 's transition from using 'we ' to ' I ' . '' Gus Chaseley-Hayford , chair of judges for the prize , described Folarin 's winning prose as a `` superb Caine Prize winner -- a delightful and beautifully paced narrative , that is exquisitely observed and utterly compelling . '' The decision was announced at the 14th Caine Prize ceremony , held Monday night at Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford , where Folarin beat his four fellow shortlisted candidates . Three of the other contenders were Nigerian , as was last year 's prize winner , Rotimi Babatunde . `` I know that myself and other Nigerian writers have been empowered by a long tradition of Nigerian authors writing beautifully , '' said Folarin . `` At times when we 're struggling to write , we derive great power from the work that has come before us . '' Folarin has previously received literary fellowships from The Institute for Policy Studies and the journal `` Callalloo , '' as well as studying for two Master 's degrees at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar . His Caine Prize win means he is eligible to take up a month 's tenure as Writer-in-Residence at the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice at Georgetown University , which he plans to begin before the end of the year . Describing himself as a `` savings freak , '' Folarin has no grand plans for his Â£10,000 ( $ 14,840 ) prize fund as yet , but his future literary plans are more defined . `` 'Miracle ' is part of a manuscript I 've been working on for three years , which ties together a number of novels through a single lead protagonist , '' he divulged . `` I hope to get that published at some stage in the future , but my main focus right now is just being the best writer I can be . `` Nothing else matters to me . ''
Tope Folarin wins top prize for African Writing . His short story , `` Miracle , '' is a semi-autobiographical look at the Nigerian diaspora . The prize includes $ 15,000 and a position as Writer-in-Residence .