THE 2023 Nigeria Prize for Literature book party organised by the Committee for Relevant Arts (CORA) was held last Sunday at Shell Hall, MUSON Centre, Lagos.
The event for the 11 longlisted dramatists for the prize initiated by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) 19 years ago featured readings from their plays and a panel session.
While eight of the playwrights participated in person, three joined virtually. Victor S. Dugga (Gidan Juju), Obari Gomba (Grit), Cheta Igbokwe (Home Coming), Christopher Anyokwu (The Boat People) and Abuchi Modilim (The Brigadiers of a Mad Tribe) attended physically. Olubunmi Familoni (When Big Masquerades Dance Naked), Olatunbosun Taofeek (Where Is Patient Zero), and Henry Akubuiro (Yamtarawala – The Warrior King) were also there in person. Abideen Abolaji Ojomu (Ojuelegba Crossroads), Ade Adeniji (Dance of The Sacred Feet) and Dr Bode Sowande (The Spellbinder) joined the panel session virtually.
In speeches before the conversation moderated by culture journalist Anote Ajeluorou, CORA’s Ropo Ewenla and NLNG’s Andy Odeh reiterated the importance of the book party.
Ewenla, a member of the CORA Board, stated that the idea of a book party sprung from a review of the prize in 2010 when some argued that stakeholders should do more for the publishing industry.
He said CORA came up with the book reading event to create an opportunity for the authors to discuss their books with the audience, adding that nothing beats a book reading.
Ewenla stated that the prize money of $100,000 makes the competition one of the world’s most keenly contested literary prizes but that writers primarily want to distinguish themselves with their writing and be recognised.
Odeh, NLNG’s General Manager of External Relations and Sustainable Development, said the annual book party brings NLNG, the sponsor of the prize, together with the literary community to promote excellence and creativity and to project outstanding books to Nigerians and the world.
He said, “Nineteen (19) years of successful administration have produced 17 winning works, and over $1 million has been won. This prize stands out as Africa’s biggest and most prestigious literary prize and one of the world’s most reputable. We are happy that today allows us to interact with these 11 playwrights. We are just two steps away from announcing the winner of the $100,000 prize in October.
“We instituted The Nigeria Prize for Literature because we were concerned that standards of reading, writing, editing, proof-reading and publishing were drastically falling in Nigeria, a country that largely founded and dominated the African Writers Series; a country that is also known to have produced reputable writers and winning works. Today, we are glad that Nigeria can showcase great literary works published in Nigeria. Our library and bookshelves have been enriched with many great works by Nigerian writers. The Nigeria Prize for Literature alone has received over 2400 entries in the four genres, many of which are top-quality entries.”
The 11 longlisted writers featured at the event were unveiled earlier this year by the panel of judges led by Professor Ameh Dennis Akoh, a drama and critical theory professor at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ebonyi State. The others are Professor Osita Catherine Ezenwanebe and Dr Rasheedah Liman.
The 11 entries were selected out of 143 for this year’s prize for drama. The award’s winner, which rotates annually among prose fiction, poetry, drama and children’s literature, will be announced in October.
READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
and then