Winner of 2019 Quramo Writers’ Prize has emerged

Vivian Onyekachi Ibe has emerged winner of the 2019 Quramo Writers’ Prize for her manuscript ‘What Dreams Are Made Of.’ This was announced during the Quramo Festival of Words (QFest2019) which took place from December 13 to 15 2019 in Lagos. Other winners include Joan Wawira Thatiah in second place for her manuscript ‘Guilty,’ and […]

Vivian Onyekachi Ibe has emerged winner of the 2019 Quramo Writers’ Prize for her manuscript ‘What Dreams Are Made Of.’

This was announced during the Quramo Festival of Words (QFest2019) which took place from December 13 to 15 2019 in Lagos.

Other winners include Joan Wawira Thatiah in second place for her manuscript ‘Guilty,’ and Jaiyeola Temitayo Tomiwa who came third for his entry, ‘You will be Fine.’

Responding to her win, Ibe said “I am honestly overwhelmed by the outcome because I really didn’t expect it. My intention was to just come around and congratulate the winner.”

When asked how long it took to put the book together, Ibe who works in the administrative section of a Lagos law firm revealed that it took two weeks to piece the winning entry of 50,000 words together.

“I first saw the announcement for the entry on Okada books and I decided to go for it,” she said.

The contest was judged by A. Igoni Barrett, Molara Wood and Toni Kan who was head judge.

The judge’s citation described the winning entry “as an assured and astute work of fiction from a writer whose sensibility is popular without veering into the superficial… Our winning entry is a fast-paced, action-packed thriller with great characterization, and dollops of wit and humour. It will find legions of readers and spark urgent conversations especially among the millennials and so ultimately expand the universe of the prize.”

The winner of the Quramo Writers’ Prize goes home with a cash prize of one million naira and the possibility of a Quramo book publishing deal. The prize is awarded to an unpublished fiction manuscript.