The Nigerian Literary Prize: One of these writers could be N40m richer by October

The Nigerian Literary Prize, worth $100, 000, has released a shortlist of three, which includes authors Elnathan John, Chika Unigwe, and Abubakar Adam Ibrahim. The shortlist, from an initial list of eleven released in July, was approved by the Advisory Board for The Nigeria Prize for Literature sponsored by Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Ltd. […]

The Nigerian Literary Prize, worth $100, 000, has released a shortlist of three, which includes authors Elnathan John, Chika Unigwe, and Abubakar Adam Ibrahim.

The shortlist, from an initial list of eleven released in July, was approved by the Advisory Board for The Nigeria Prize for Literature sponsored by Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Ltd.

John, a writer, lawyer and a Civitella Ranieri Fellow, is on the list for his debut novel, ‘Born on a Tuesday’. In 2013, his short story, ‘Bayan Layi’, which later became the first chapter of his debut novel, was on the shortlist for the Caine Prize for African Writing. From the tale of Dantala, who hangs out with a group of marijuana-smoking political thugs, the novels blew up to a full length novel about the protagonist’s journey, from a thug to an almajiri who later becomes a trusted assistant to a respected imam. In this contemporary work, the writer beams his searchlight on the Shi’ite sect and the manipulation of religion by a few for personal gains.

‘Night Dancer’, written by Unigwe focuses on the young protagonist’s search for identity and her consequent reappraisal of her mother’s values. This writer was 2012 winner of The Nigeria Prize for Literature, with her novel ‘On Black Sisters Street’. She sat on the Board of Trustees of pan-African literary initiative, Writivism, and was recently appointed a judge for the Man Booker Prize, 2017.

Set in conservative Northern Nigeria, Ibrahim’s ‘Season of Crimson Blossoms’ is the story of fiftyish Binta and her secret affair with a street thug, Reza. What started as a break-in incident, soon led to an affair that threatened the image of Binta and her family. This author has won the BBC African Performance Prize and the Amatu Braide Prize for Prose. He is also a Gabriel Garcia Marquez Fellow, a Civitella Ranieri Fellow, and author of ‘Whispering Trees’, a collection of short stories with international acclaim. 

The Chairman of the panel of judges is Prof. Dan Izevbaye, a well-respected literary critic and professor of Literature in English. Others are  Asabe Usman Kabir, professor of Oral and African Literatures at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto and Isidore Diala, first winner of The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism and professor of African literature in the Department of English, Imo State University, Owerri.

Other members of the Advisory Board, besides Professor Emeritus Ayo Banjo, two-time Vice-Chancellor of Nigeria’s premier university, University of Ibadan, are Prof. Jerry Agada, a former Minister of State for Education, former President of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), and Professor Emeritus Ben Elugbe, former President of the Nigerian Academy of Letters and president of the West-African Linguistic Society from 2004 to 2013.

The Nigeria Prize for Literature rotates yearly amongst four literary genres: prose fiction, poetry, drama and children’s literature. Next year’s prize will be for poetry. A total of 173 entries for the prize were received this year.
The Nigeria Prize for Literature and The Nigeria Prize for Science are sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited.