Why our literary contest isn’t limited to Nigerians – Janet Olabisi

Bookshelf: What is Communicators League all about? Janet Olabisi: Communicators League is a creative house with a vision to bridge the gap between the arts and humanity.  Bookshelf: Communicator’s League recently opened a contest for poetry and flash fiction. As Submissions Editor, what are your expectations? Olabisi: This is the maiden edition and the theme […]

Bookshelf: What is Communicators League all about?

Janet Olabisi: Communicators League is a creative house with a vision to bridge the gap between the arts and humanity. 

Bookshelf: Communicator’s League recently opened a contest for poetry and flash fiction. As Submissions Editor, what are your expectations?

Olabisi: This is the maiden edition and the theme for flash fiction is nostalgia, while that for poetry is social injustice, meaning social issues and how it affects us humans. A typical example is what happens within the Nigerian government and how it affects the country. For Nostalgia on the other hand, we expect stories about the good old days, things people reminisce about.

Nigeria is made up of multi-talented people. We want to give a voice to the voiceless, because there are a lot of writers who write well yet don’t have the platform to showcase their work. Recently there was a call for entries for a publication and I read an entry of an eight-year-old girl. Ordinarily she wouldn’t have had the chance of sharing her creative work. That’s what Communicators League and this contest is all about. Apart from the cash prizes winners will be given, the top hundred entries will be published in an anthology that can be downloaded free on our website. 

Bookshelf: Who are the judges for the prize?

Olabisi: We have Hulya Yilmaz, an interrupted poet and writer since middle school, hidden in a career as a college professor in Humanities. She earned her Ph.D. from The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1989. Yılmaz focuses on fictional autobiography, short stories and poetry. Then there’s Binogun Winifred, a graduate of English and Literary Studies at the University of Ibadan, who won the Nigerian Writers Awards for Teenage Writer of the Year in 2015. Her works have appeared in publications such as ANA Review 2016, AFAS Review 2016, PIN Quarterly Journal and elsewhere.

Bookshelf: Why just poetry and flash fiction?

Olabisi: Communicators League was established three years ago and the main reason behind the contest is to give back to the society. It started among hundred level students in University of Ibadan and now is known globally. We receive works for publication from around the world. The contest is streamlined for poetry and flash fiction because of the prizes. The first prize winner will be awarded with $80 second prize, $32 and third prize, $16. So it’s as a result of our financial capability and resources at our disposal. 

Bookshelf: Why is the prize not limited to Nigeria since you are starting small?

Olabisi: Since it’s the maiden edition, it’s an opportunity to make Communicators League more known than it already is. Also, because we have submissions worldwide we didn’t want to limit entry to Nigeria. Subsequently there will be other contests that will be streamlined. A typical example is the ‘I Write Poetry’ contest that will be open after this contest.