PositiveNaija

Samuel Monye, a short stories’ writer, novelist, spoken words poet and a graduate of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, has emerged senior category winner of Quramo Writers’ Prize 2017, with his work, Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread, and has won the sum of ₦1 million cash gift.

Samuel Monye’s work is a topical issue that borders on the migrants’ perilous journey through the Sahara Desert to Libya.

Executive Publisher, Quramo Publishing, Mrs. Gbemi Shasore, said that writing is not only for professionals and that Quramo is out to help the young writers discover and sell their talents. To encourage them therefore, the publishing company focuses on their writing and reading abilities, adding, however, that through the contest, they will be able to find hidden talents.

According to Shasore, the company invited independent judges who were not affiliated to it in any way. She noted that the criteria for judging the contestants’ works were based on originality of the stories, language and presentation, stressing that no nation can be successful without improving literacy, and that Quramo intends to take the writer’s award nationwide.

Chief judge of the contest, Mrs. Aduke Gomez, said that hundreds of entries were handed over to the judges anonymously and their works were all judged without favouritism, as the judges unanimously agreed on both winners based on the quality of their writings.

Arshiya, an Indian national who enjoys reading and creative writing, and has lived in [Nigeria] for two years, emerged winner of junior category of Quramo Writers’ Prize 2017 with her story, The Forgotten. Ashyer got ₦500,000 gift.

The Advisory Board of the Nigeria Prize for Literature, an annual competition sponsored by NLNG has announced Ikeogu Oke as the winner of the 2017 edition.

Mr. Ikeogu Oke receives a cash prize of $100,000. Ikeogu Oke’s collection of poems, The Heresiad, came tops from among 184 entries received for the competition.

Chairman of the Panel of Judges, Ernest Emenyonu said most writers in Nigeria are now portraying their creativity which is an improvement in the literary sector. He said the benchmarks for selecting the winner among the 184 entries which were in various sizes and had diverse themes were quality and validity of publication year. According to Ernest Emenyonu:

“The seriousness with which the NLNG literary prize is received by the teeming population of writers in Nigeria is a sign that the expectations of writers swing beyond the prize itself to that of portraying their creativity.

Oke’s poetry collection reveals a conscious manipulation of language and philosophy in the style that reminds us of the writings of great Greek writers of Homeric and Hellenistic periods.”

Mr. Oke was the standards editor and deputy editor (arts and culture) at the now rested NEXT newspaper. He holds a BA in English and Literary Studies from the University of Calabar, and an MA in Literature from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

The number of entries for the 2017 edition exceeded the 2013 numbers in the same category, showing a six percent increase in the number of entries received and increasing interest in one of the biggest literary prizes in the world.

This has been the trend since 2005, the first time Poetry was in focus, and for which only 13 entries were received. The next four years would see an exponential growth in the number of entries with 160 entries in 2009 and 174 in 2013.

The Nigeria Prize for Literature rotates yearly among four literary genres: prose fiction, poetry, drama and children’s literature.