Category: Art, Media & Entertainment

Anietie Isong has been named winner of the 2018 McKItterick Prize for his debut novel, ‘Radio Sunrise’ receiving a £4,000 prize money.

Anietie Isong, the first Nigerian to win the prize since it was established in 1990, joins previous award winners including Helen Dunmore, Petina Gappah and Mark Haddon.

The McKitterick Prize, administered by the Society of Authors, honours the first novel by a writer aged over 40.

Anietie received the prize from broadcaster and actor, Stephen Fry at the Authors’ Awards ceremony in London.

Prize judge Aamer Hussein, short story writer and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature said:

“It’s a particular pleasure to discover the original, intriguing voice of Anietie Isong. In his brief, deftly told Radio Sunrise, the author depicts his often-hapless protagonist’s sexual mishaps and political travails on a journey to his hometown with a unique blend of humour and poignance. An intriguing and accomplished new novelist.”

According to Anietie Isong:

“I am thrilled that my debut novel resonated with the judges. Radio Sunrise paints a satirical portrait of (post) post-colonial Nigeria that builds on the legacy of the great African satirist tradition of Ngugi Wa Thiongo and Ayi Kwei Armah. Its just a story about Ifiok, a young journalist working for the government radio station in Lagos, aspires to always do the right thing but the odds seem to be stacked against him.

Government pressures cause the funding to his radio drama to get cut off, his girlfriend leaves him when she discovers he is having an affair with an intern, and kidnappings and militancy are on the rise in the country.

When Ifiok travels to his hometown to do a documentary on some ex-militants’ apparent redemption, a tragi-comic series of events will make him realise he is unable to swim against the tide.”

Eight awards were presented to 31 writers.

Among the winners were host of debut names along with recognised writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry to share a prize fund of £98,000.

The ceremony, which took place at the Royal Institute of British Architects, saw over 400 guests from across the publishing industry come together, as the winners of other prizes administered by Society of Authors were revealed.

Elnathan John has been announced as one of the judges for the 2019 Man Booker International Prize as submissions for the 2019 prize open.

Chaired by Bettany Hughes, award-winning historian, author and broadcaster, the panel consists of: writer, translator and president of English PEN Maureen Freely; philosopher Professor Angie Hobbs FRSA; novelist and satirist Elnathan John; and essayist and novelist Pankaj Mishra.

Continue reading Elnathan John Announced As A Judge For The 2019 Man Booker International Prize

Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) celebrated student journalists across Nigeria at a campus journalism award ceremony.

The awards were named in honour of the late Alfred Opubor for his pioneering contributions to journalism in Nigeria.

Professor Opubor was the first Nigerian professor who served at the Department of Mass Communication at the University Of Lagos (UNILAG).

Seven categories of the best student journalists awards were given: Best Opinion Piece; Best Community Journalism Story; Best Investigative Story; Most Prolific Writer; Most Active Campus; Best Female Campus Reporter; and Best Male Campus reporter.

Adejumo Kabir, a 300 level student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) who won three awards expressed his gratitude to PTCIJ for the honour at the event and for the opportunity to be trained under the campus reporters’ framework. Mr. Adejumo won the awards for the best investigative story, “Nigerian University website hacked”, most prolific campus reporter and best male campus journalist.

He said the award will encourage him to write without fear or favour for the promotion of the welfare of students and the community at large.

The best opinion piece award was given to Adekunle Adebajo of University of Ibadan for the story ”Nigerian Tertiary Institutions: An Endangered Species Under the 2018 budget” while the best community journalism story award was won by Chiamaka Okafor from the Nnamdi Azikwe University for the story, “UNIZIK community laments 21- Day power outage.”

Ms. Chiamaka Okafor also won the best female campus reporter award.

According to the Publisher of PREMIUM TIMES, Dapo Olorunyomi:

“We realise that there were clashes between the teachings in the classrooms and what is happening in the newsroom. There was lack of resources to the job and for you to be able to do journalism, you need resources.

I particularly commend the Editor-In-Chief, Musikilu Mojeed, for his commitment to the job and his belief in revolutionalising journalism.”

In the words of the general manager, Capital FM, Mercy Njoku:

“Young minds need to understand the term ‘responsible journalism’ because some journalists practice irresponsible journalism.

When journalists are diligent, hardworking and creative, they will go places. In whatever you do, you are setting up your testimonials.”

The judges included Fisayo Soyombo; Mahmud Jega of Daily Trust; Motunrayo Alaka of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism; Chido Onumah of the Africa Centre for Media and Information Literacy and Lanre Arogundade of the International Press Centre.

Akin Akinbulu, the Executive Director, Institute of Media and Society and Lekan Otufodunrin, editor of the Nation Newspaper, received special recognition awards for their contributions to journalism in Nigeria.

The PTCIJ student journalists programme was actively supported by the Ford Foundation and executed in partnership with the National Union of Campus Journalists.

Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola, has won the ART X Prize in a competition organised in partnership with Access Bank in Lagos.

Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola emerged as the winner after live presentations to the judges, alongside a shortlist that also included two other artists – Ayo Akinwande and Williams Chechet as finalists. Bolatito is a trans-disciplinary artist working primarily in time based art, interactivity and performance.

Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola emerged from many applicants screened by a jury of five renowned artists comprising pioneering artist, Professor Bruce Onobrakpeya; Turner Prize nominee Yinka Shonibare MBE;  Wura-Natasha Ogunji, Sokari Douglas-Camp; and gallerist and curator, Oliver Enwonwu.

In the words of Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola:

“The work I proposed for the competition is an interactive display that people can come up to the screen, interact with it. It’s like the screen is moving as the individual moves so it creates a beautiful dance effect. As of now, the screen is about 15ft but depending on how the project develops it could be more.”

According to the Director of ART X Lagos, Tokini Peterside:

“We are delighted to have the privilege to support the prize-winner, Bolatito Aderemi-Ibitola, at this pivotal stage in her career. This will propel her towards a successful future within the African and global art industry.

We look forward to unveiling Bolatito’s ambitious project at ART X Lagos 2018 in November. The project will introduce her to our international audience, collectors and curators from renowned institutions around the world.”

Group Managing Director of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, said:

“At Access Bank, beyond our vast collection of established artists, we believe that we are also responsible for empowering emerging artists. This is why we continue to support the ART X Prize – to celebrate the ingenuity of Nigeria’s emerging art talent.”

Kukogho Iruesiri Samson has emerged the overall winner of the 2018 Dusty Manuscript Contest organised by Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc with his winning manuscript titled Devil’s Pawn.

His work was selected ahead of The Orchid Protocol written by Onoche Emeka Onyekwena and The Other Side of Truth by Nneoma Anieto, which came first and second runner-up respectively.

Organized in partnership with Kachifo Ltd. and Okadabooks, the Dusty Manuscript Contest is the latest in a long line of GTBank’s YouREAD initiatives aimed at fostering the culture of reading and creating a platform for the appreciation of Africa’s literary excellence.

As part of the contest, Nigerians were invited to submit their unpublished stories and stand a chance to get publishing deals for their works.

The Dusty Manuscript Contest received over 1,000 entries and had a panel of four judges made up of authors; Eghosa Imasuen, Yejide Kilanko, Toni Kan and Assistant Professor of English, Dr. Ainehi Edoro-Glines.

As part of the prizes in the Dusty Manuscript Contest, the authors of the top 3 manuscripts received ₦1 million, ₦500,000 and ₦250,000 respectively, as well as publishing contracts with Kachifo Ltd.

The authors of the 10 manuscripts also received e-publishing contracts with OkadaBooks, while the authors of the top 20 manuscripts were hosted to a two-day intensive writers’ boot-camp to sharpen their literary and business skills.

Commenting on the Dusty Manuscript Contest, Mr. Segun Agbaje, Managing Director of GTBank Plc, said:

“At GTBank, we see Art as not just a medium for creative expression but also as a means of livelihood, and by organizing the Dusty Manuscript Contest we are helping budding writers share their stories with the world whilst providing them with a platform to build successful writing careers.”

The bank’s footprints in Corporate Social Responsibility are guided strategically by its decision to operate on four major pillars: Education, Community Development, Arts and the Environment, which it believes are essential building blocks for the society and prerequisites for economic growth and societal development.

Six secondary and primary schools have emerged winners in the World Environment Day (WED) 2018, inter-school arts exhibition organized by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF).

The winners in the secondary school category are Mayors Height School, Epe Girls Senior Secondary School and Genesis High School as first, second and third positions respectively.

While Refiners School, Genesis Primary School and Learning Ladder Montessori School emerged winners in the primary category as first, second and third positions respectively.

About 11 secondary schools and seven primary schools (both public and private) across Lagos State participated in the WED inter-school arts exhibition competition.

The activities were organized to enable students to showcase their creative abilities in turning plastics waste into arts and crafts while learning about ways the government and other stakeholders are helping to reduce its production and adverse effect on the people.

NCF also hosted key stakeholders in the plastic industries for a session of deliberation.

The foundation has over the years used WED to grow environmental literacy among the youths and the students. Avenue is usually created for the participants to individually or collectively develop solutions to current environmental challenges.

The arts exhibition is an idea about up-cycling (converting waste plastics to arts and craft) rather than recycling.

NCF encouraged stakeholders involved in the production and consumption of plastics, as well as the policy makers to jointly explore sustainable alternatives.

Furthermore, to urgently reduce the production and excessive use of single-use plastics polluting our oceans, damaging marine life and threatening human health.

Plastic pollution involves the accumulation of plastic products in the environment that adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, and humans.

The Chairman of the occasion, Chief Ede Dafinone said:

“Most of the plastic waste generated comes from deliberate dumping of garbage into waterways and mismanaged waste disposal.

More than 50 percent of plastic waste generated comes from inadequate management due to lack or infrastructure associated with an ever-increasing population.”

Nine winners have emerged at the Hi-Life Fest 2018 talent hunt show with cash prizes totaling ₦6.6 million.

The Hi-Life Fest 2018 talent hunt show, which had two categories, namely Igbo highlife music and cultural dance, saw Dons Ifeanyi, a Musician from Anambra State emerged winner in the highlife music category while Umuchiziri dance group led by Chuzzy Anene emerged winner in the cultural dance category. Both winners went home with a cheque of ₦2 million prize money each.

Continue reading Winners Of Hi-Life Fest 2018 Talent Hunt Show