Nigeria Prize for Literature is a Nigerian literary award given annually since 2004 to honor literary erudition by Nigerian authors. The award rotates among four genres; fiction, poetry, drama and children's literature, repeating the cycle every four years. With the total prize value of US$100,000 to individual winner, it is the biggest literary award in Africa and one of the richest literary awards in the world.
| Nigeria Prize for Literature | |
|---|---|
 Soji Cole in his office with his winner's plaque, 2018 | |
| Awarded for | Excellence and literary craftsmanship |
| Sponsored by | Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited |
| Date | Annual |
| Country | Nigeria |
| Presented by | Nigerian Academy of Science with advisory board constituted from: |
| Reward(s) | US$100,000 |
| First awarded | 2005 |
| Latest recipient | Obari Gomba |
| Website | Official website |
History
editThe Prize was established in 2004 and sponsored by Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas company. However, the process and judging are administered by Nigerian Academy of Science with advisory board made up of members from Nigeria Academy of Letters and Association of Nigerian Authors.[1]
The Prize was initially $20,000. This was increased to $30,000 in 2006, and again to $50,000 in 2008. In 2011 the prize was increased to $100,000.[2]
Years with no winner
editSince its inception, the award is normally awarded in October. However, on three occasions the panel of judges were unable to select a winner, with no prize awarded in 2004, 2009[3] and 2015.[4][5] In 2015, chair of the judging panel Ayo Banjo noted: "Unfortunately, the entries this year fall short of this expectation as each book was found to manifest incompetence in the use of language. Many of them showed very little or no evidence of good editing ... Hence, there will be no winner this year."[5]
Past recipients
edit| Year | Recipient | Book | Genre | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Obari Gomba | Grit | Drama | [6] |
| 2022 | Romeo Oriogun | Nomad | Poetry | |
| 2020/2021 | Cheluchi Onyemelukwe | The Son of the House | Prose | [7] |
| 2019 | Jude Idada | Boom Boom | Children's Literature | [8] |
| 2018 | Soji Cole | Embers | Drama | |
| 2017 | Ikeogu Oke[9] | The Heresiad | Poetry | |
| 2016 | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim[10] | Season of Crimson Blossoms | Prose | |
| 2015 | Children's literature | No winner[4][a] | ||
| 2014 | Sam Ukala | Iredi War | Drama | |
| 2013 | Tade Ipadeola[11] | The Sahara Testaments | Poetry | |
| 2012 | Chika Unigwe | On Black Sisters Street | Prose | |
| 2011 | Adeleke Adeyemi | The Missing Clock | Children's literature | |
| 2010 | Esiaba Irobi | Cemetery Road | Drama | Posthumous[b] |
| 2009 | Poetry | No winner [3] | ||
| 2008 | Kaine Agary | Yellow Yellow | Prose | |
| 2007 (Shared prize) | Mabel Segun | Readers' Theatre: Twelve Plays for Young People | Children's literature | |
| Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo | My Cousin Sammy | Children's literature | ||
| 2006 | Ahmed Yerima | Hard Ground | Drama | |
| 2005 (Shared prize) | Gabriel Okara | The Dreamer: His Vision | Poetry | |
| Ezenwa Ohaeto | Chants of Minstrel | Poetry | ||
| 2004 | Prose | No winner |
See also
editNotes and reference
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ "Nigeria Prize for Literature". Nigeria LNG. 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ "On the hundred thousand dollar prize". The Nigeria Prize for Literature. 26 June 2011. Archived from the original on 1 December 2011.
- ^ a b Abdullahi, Nuruddeen M (11 October 2009). "No Winner in 2009 NLNG Prize for Literature". Daily Trust. Archived from the original on 12 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- ^ a b Osagie, Evelyn (25 September 2015). "No winner for 2015 NLNG's Literature prize". The Nation Online. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ a b Quadri, Zainab. "Entries assessed were all 'incompetent in the use of language". Pulse. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- ^ Odeh, Nehru (13 October 2023). "Obari Gomba wins 2023 Nigeria Prize for Literature, carts home $100,000". P.M. News. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ Braide, Damiete (30 October 2021). "BREAKING: Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia wins Nigeria Prize for Literature 2021". The Sun Nigeria Newspaper.
- ^ "BREAKING: Jude Idada wins NLNG 2019 Nigeria literature prize of $100,000". Vanguard. 11 October 2019.
- ^ Sam-Duru, Prisca (10 October 2017). "Ikeogu Oke is 2017 winner of Nigeria Prize for Literature". Vanguard. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ Bamas, Victoria (12 October 2016). "Abubakar Adam's A Season of Crimson Blossoms wins the 2016 NLNG literature prize". Daily Trust. Archived from the original on 21 November 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ Alakam, Japhet; Prisca Sam-Duru (10 October 2013). "Tade Ipadeola wins 2013 Nigeria Prize for Literature". Vanguard. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
