My Rainbow Books set for 2017 children’s contest

My Rainbow Books Limited in conjunction with E-Gaps has organized another round of the National Creative Writing Competition for Children in Nigeria.  The competition which is annual and free-to-enter is in its fourth year. It is endorsed by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC). Some of its benefits include helping children develop their creative thinking […]

My Rainbow Books Limited in conjunction with E-Gaps has organized another round of the National Creative Writing Competition for Children in Nigeria. 

The competition which is annual and free-to-enter is in its fourth year. It is endorsed by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC). Some of its benefits include helping children develop their creative thinking and writing skills. 

The competition is open to children aged five to sixteen years who are either resident in Nigeria or from Nigeria. The themes for this year’s competition are: ‘The Scar’, ‘The Boy in Purple Socks’, ‘The Confession’, ‘The Missing Calabash’, ‘The Broken Glass’, and ‘A Long, Long Night’. 

Entries for the competition can be either a poem or a short story, but must explore one of the given themes. The word limit for a short story is 1000 words, and the word limit for a poem is 250 words. 

Judges for the 2017 competition are Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (Winner, NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature, 2016), E C Osondu (award-winning author of ‘Waiting’ and ‘This House Is Not For Sale’), Kola Tubosun (award-winning Linguist and writer/ founder, YorubaName.com).

Prizes and awards will be given to the schools and children that send in outstanding entries. The best entries will be published in My Rainbow Books’ Children’s Collection. Also, children who excel in the competition will be invited to participate in a creative writing workshop run by the patron of the competition, Chigozie Obioma, award-winning author of ‘The Fishermen’.

The competition is sponsored by the Education Gaps Linkage Initiative and various other organizations and companies, including Marvelous Mike Press, Mattini Book Club, Blooming Chicken, Iyin Creative, FourSquare Publishers, Cassava Republic, HEBN Publishers and Fenan Digital Prints Ltd. 

Deadline for entries is November 30, 2017.