OkadaBooks and Union Bank NG Unveil Winners Of First-Ever Campus Writing Challenge


The first edition of the Campus Writing Challenge, organised by OkadaBooks and Union Bank of Nigeria, was recently concluded at an award ceremony hosted at the Stallion Plaza, headquarters of Union Bank, sponsors of the initiative. 

In a mail from OkadaBooks' Content Manager, Martha Kings, to The Words Finesse (TWF), the hour-long private event was attended by some of the entrants of the contest, including the Top 10 winners, along with a few of their relatives, the OkadaBooks team and representatives from Union Bank.

From a total of 1,793 entries received, to the long list of the top 150 stories, to the shortlist of the top 10, the contest was an exciting journey of literary discovery.

First Place
Sima Essien, is a 100-level student of the University of Nsukka, studying English and Literature. His winning story, All your Colours, tells of the power and pain of family and love.

When asked what inspired his story, Sima revealed that “All your Colours” was actually not the first choice for his entry. He got nervous about his original story and had to do a last minute swap. The story appears to have won the hearts of the judges who had this to say; 

“All Your Colours is a deserving winner, a story told in an inventive and assured voice from. Often you read stories that leave you with enchanting sensations and this is certainly one of those stories.” - Abubakar Ibrahim, contest judge

“All Your Colours by Sima Essien does not have a single false note. It impresses with its vivid use of language and its deft execution of its theme of love, loss and hope.” - Chika Unigwe, contest judge


Second Place
Jesutofunmi Fekoya, a 300-level law student of the University of Lagos snatched the second spot with her story, Dark Clouds, which explores pollution.

In her words: “I wanted to write a story that would not only entertain, but also teach my readers a lesson about the environment”.

Here are what the judges had to say about her story:

“Dark Clouds was chosen for its originality. It is set in Lagos of the future, where clean air is a luxury that only the very rich can afford. It is an original take on a real environmental challenge (pollution) and offers a happy ending.” - Chika Unigwe

“Dark Clouds demonstrates ambition and grit. Though futuristic, it speaks of what may soon be our reality, in a Lagos damaged by an environmental nuclear we seem eager to detonate, but offers hope for the future and speaks of our now. A story told with imagination and confidence.” - Abubakar Ibrahim

Third Place
Joseph Akinkunmi, is a 400-level student of Zoology in the University of Ilorin. His story, Dry Lids and the Devil's Strings, tells the story of a young girl who suffers from an inability to shed tears. Joseph said that his story is inspired by a real life event.

Fiction often helps raise awareness and raise our voice against injustice; Dry Lids and Devil’s Strings does a bit of both.  Beyond that, it is also a compelling story of a young girl at the mercy of an ignorant aunt and unscrupulous pastors. - Chika Unigwe

Audience Favourite
Members of the public were asked to vote a personal favourite story and they chose Silence that Spoke by Roseline Okorie, a 200-level law student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University. During a 2-week voting session for the top 150 entries, Roseline’s story scored the highest number of votes.

Best Book Cover
Tales of Kuki by Idaewor Abel, a 300-level dentistry student of the University of Benin, was voted by the public as the entry with the best book cover due to its simple but well detailed graphic design.

Unlike most contests that focus on rewarding only the top 3, the Campus Writing Challenge will be rewarding the top 25. Plans are in motion to make the Campus Writing Challenge an annual competition for students in tertiary institutions across Nigeria.

It would be recalled that the Writing Challenge jointly judged by two winners of NLNG Prize for Literature, Chika Unigwe and Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, which opened submissions on 27th August and closed on 7th of October, 2018, promised total cash prizes of N960, 000 to winner.

The winning and shortlisted entries are also expected to be sent to top publishing houses in Nigeria for publishing opportunity deal for winning students. The winning entries will also be published innthe 1st edition of the Collegiate Anthology, to be compiled by OkadaBooks.
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When We Were Growing Up, There Was Enough Time To Read- A.O. Hassan

A.O. Hassan
AbdulAzeez Hassan aka A.O. Hassan is an Officer of the Nigerian Prisons Service and a prolific writer. He is the author of many books of fiction, among which are The Short Route, A Night of Patriotism, The Patriot, The Innavator's Paradise, and Hidden Angle. In this interview with ABDULHAFEEZ T. OYEWOLE,  he delves into books, his journey into writing and his dream for an upright Nigeria.
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Winner of 2017 NLNG prize, Ikeogu Oke dies at 51

Ikeogu Oke 

- Abdulhafeez T. Oyewole 

A renowned Nigerian poet and the winner of the 2017 NLNG Prize for Literature, Ikeogu Oke, is dead.

Born in 1967, he passed away last night, Saturday, 24th of November, 2018 at the National Hospital, Abuja, after a brief illness. 

The poet, who was also a journalist, gained nationwide fame last year when he won the 2017 Nigeria Prize for Literature (Poetry Category) for his book, The Heresiad, a book of epic poetry.
3 Shortlisted books for 2017 NLNG Prize for Literature 
The deceased was presented with a cheque of $100,000 (N37m) by the Prize sponsor, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited.

This Oke’s operatic poetry titled, The Heresiad, beat Ogaga Ifowodo’s A Good Mourning and Tanure Ojaide’s Songs of Myself: Quartet, to claim the prize after an intensive adjudication process.
Ikeogu reading the poem he wrote for Okigbo at Ojoto
Ikeogu Oke's poems and other writings have appeared in journals, anthologies and other publications worldwide. He has performed his poems at various fora in Nigeria, South Africa and the United States, including as a special performance poet guest of Brown University in 2014. He graduated with a BA in English and Literary Studies from the University of Calabar and an MA in Literature from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. In 2010, Nadine Gordimer, the winner of the 1991 Noble Prize in Literature, selected his second collection of poems, Salutes without Guns, as her Book of the Year for the Times Literary Supplement. 

His other books include In The Wing Of Waiting, The Lion and The Monkey, The Tortoise And The Princess and Where I Was Born.

Meanwhile, the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), through its National President, Denja Abdullahi, has expressed deep shock over the untimely death of the late poet laureate.

According to the Nigerian Authors' President, "Ikeogu Oke was a committed member of ANA and together we (the deceased and him) have criss-crossed Nigeria on several literary ventures, ranging from Arrow of God @ 50 in 2014 to the recent Return To Idoto 2 which held in Ojoto-Awka in August, 2018."

Abdullahi who said Ikeogu was a friend and compatriot, described him as an affable, gentle and enigmatic fellow who lived and breathed poetry. 

The ministry's Director and cultural technocrat prayed that God give the deceased family and the literary community the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss, while also praying that his poetic soul rest in peace.
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Shortlists for 2018 African Writers Award is Out


The African Writers Development Trust (AWDT)'s shortlists for the 2018 African Writers Award have been released by the respective judges of each category of the award.

The shortlistees were unveiled in a statement issued by the Chief judge of the award, Anthony Onugba today.

The category judges who have left comments regarding the entries, shortlisted ten (10) out of Short stories, Flash fiction and Poetry received, except Children’s literature with shortlisted five (5) entries. 

Below are judges' comments, shortlisted entries and their authors:

Children’s Literature

"For this edition, there were few entries for children’s literature compared to the other genres. This shows that there is a dearth of Children’s literature writers from Africa. Perhaps, it is worth considering." – Nahida Esmail (Tanzania)

The shortlists for this genre are:

• Onyekachi Eberechi Grace (Nigeria) for ‘Freedom Is at the Bank of the River.’
• Manu Herbstein  (Ghana) for ‘Roise-Awa.’
• Maryam Awaisu (Nigeria) for ‘Ms Joana’s Rules.’
• Jo Allen (Kenya) for ‘Who Can Stop the Rain.’
• Anierobi Ginikachi Maria (Nigeria) for ‘Destined for Greatness.’

Short Stories

“I believe that the best short stories have the power to change minds, to rethink attitudes, and build empathy by asking the readers to walk in other’s shoes through the breathing of life and emotion into the characters. The 2018 African Writers Awards’ shortlisted stories look beneath the veil of femininity and sexuality. They challenge gender politics and bash at the rough grip societal norms have on the African girl child. Like a thousand voices coming from every nuke, dark crack and sealed door, they give voice to every African woman who has for long been buried under the rug of society.”  -Nyashadzashe Chikumbu (Zimbabwe)

The shortlists are:

• Nana Ama Gyemaah Otuahene (Ghana) for ‘The merchandise.’
• Temwai Mgundu (Malawi) for ‘A Dance in the Dark.’
• Odinegwa Onmwamere (Nigeria) for ‘My Mother’s 4th pregnancy.’
• Musak Worneh (Ethiopia) for ‘Anathema.’
• Munira Hessein (Kenya) for ‘The power of the Wind.’
• Philani Amadeas Nyoni (Zimbabwe) for ‘Celestial Incest.’
• Aisha M. Umar (Nigeria) for ‘Binle’s Emerald. ‘
• Ben Mugo (Kenya) for ‘Dawn.’
• Mazabu Mwanga (Zambia) for ‘Till Death.’
• Mema Daisy Ojukwu (Nigeria) for ‘A Woman Now.’

Flash Fiction

"We received a lot of entries in this category. Below are the shortlisted 10." - Edith Knight (Kenya)

They are:

• Eliza Mabungu (South Africa/Mozambique) for ‘A Breath of Fresh Air.’
• Maryhilda Ibe (Nigeria) for ‘Fragments.’
• Scholar V Akinyi (Kenya) for ‘The Red Affair.’
• Abah Linus Ajene (Nigeria) for ‘Favour’s Favours.’
• Chibuike Ogbonnaya (Nigeria) for ‘A Tempered Destiny.’
• Farrah Bhajee (Kenya) for 6 ‘Flavours of Breast.’
• Edoizem Miracle (Nigeria) for ‘Me in the Mirror.’
• Esther Enewerome (Nigeria) for ‘Resonance.’
• Grace Ojogbane David (Nigeria) for ‘Death is An Innocent Girl.’
• Jude Imereti (Nigeria) for ‘The Sad Suffering Smiling Spouse.’


Poetry

"The criteria for the selection include:
– works that followed submission guidelines of providing a bio and an accompanying picture of poet
– works graded on evocativeness such as use of imagery, use of figure of speech, “Africanness” in words used and context, concise word usage (some works were prose in verse), rhythm, etc
– some male poets were not selected due to the poet personae they used. For a topic as sensitive as gender and in particular, the girl child, the male author cannot be seen as telling the girl child story but rather amplifying it by playing a supportive role or educating other men as to their responsibilities." – Kolabomi Adeko (Nigeria)

The shortlists are:

• Petronella Nyirenda (Zambia) for ‘Beauty.’
• Oscar Sogli (Ghana) for ‘Dowry of Education.’
• Chiamaka Pamela Ofoma (Nigeria) for ‘Reachout.’
• Kofi Acquah (Ghana) for ‘Young and Green.’
• Joseph Olamide Babalola (Nigeria) for ‘Penned.’
• Abeiku Arhin Tsiwah (Ghana) for ‘Sometimes Being Beautiful [a Girl] is the Only Way to Escape Fire.’
• Adedokun Amar-Sobur (Nigeria) for ‘Cornrows.’
• Bijou Mwaura (Mauritius) for ‘Know Your Worth Girl Child.’
• Chiamaka Onu-Okpara (Nigeria) for ‘A Battle Cry to be Read Loudly and Softly.’
• Jesutoni Akoni (Nigeria) for ‘Obinrin.’

According to Anthony Onugba, the winners will be announced during the 2018 African Writers Dinner/Awards which will hold at the International Conference Centre, Abuja at 5:30 PM, where the winners will also receive their awards during the event.
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Nine African poets shortlisted for 2018 Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature


Nine poets from Africa have been shortlisted for the sixth edition of the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa which will be awarded at the MUSON Centre, Onikan in Lagos on December 9 2018.

This edition of the rotating Pan-African prize is for poetry and had 110 submissions from 11 countries on the continent, including Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Rwanda.

The long-listed writers and their works are: Dami Ajayi- Clinical Blues, Servio Gbadamosi- A Tributary in Servitude, Tanure Ojaide- Songs of Myself, Harriet Anena- A Nation in Labour, Iquo Eke- Symphony of Becoming, Hyinus Ekwuazi- One Day, I'll Dare to Raise My Middle Finger at the Stark and the Reaper, Su’eddie Vershima Agema- Home Equals Holes: Tale of An Exile, Abayomi Animashaun- Sailing for Ithaca and Onesi Taiwo Dominic- Heaven on Earth: A Harvest of Poems.

A joint release by The Lumina Foundation and from its administrators of the Prize: Founding Director, Dr. Ogochockwu Promise and the Development Advisor, Mr. Ivor Agyeman-Duah, said the quality and volume of entries received were very high and expressed appreciation to the eminent jury of three for their readings and selections.

The jury was chaired by the UK-based literary and Editorial Director, Margaret Busby OBE, who is also chair emeritus of the Soroptimist International of Leeds, previously chair of the Caine Prize for African Writing and the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.

The other two were the renowned historian of the University of Texas at Austin, Professor Toyin Falola, author of the celebrated A Month Sweeter than Salt and the Lagos-based international literary scholar, Olu Obafemi, Professor of English and Dramatic Literature.

The prize money of $10,000 and citation will be given to the eventual winner by the Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka.

The ceremony will be attended by the literary establishment in Nigeria, some writers’ associations in Africa and the United Kingdom.

Previous winners of the prize have included novelists Sefi Atta for Everything Will Come, the South African Sifiso Mzobe for Young Blood which won over another South African short-listed book the same year, The Unseen Leopard by Bridget Pitt.

The short-list of three will be announced at a press conference in Victoria Island, Lagos on November 21, 2018 and the winner will be declared on December 9, 2018.
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