Record entries for 2025 NigeriaPrize for Literature

From left, Professors Ahmed Yerima and Olu Obafemi; Anne-Maria Palmer-Ikuku; Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo; Jury chair, Professor Saeedat Bolajoko Aliyu and jury members Stephen Mbanefo Ogene and Olakunle Kasumu at the handover of entries.

A record 252 entries have been received for the 2025 Nigeria Prize for Literature sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited.

The prize worth $100,000 rotates annually across four literary genres: prose fiction, poetry, drama, and children’s literature. It will be awarded for prose fiction this year, with the record number of entries surpassing 202 in 2021 and 163 in 2024.

Speaking at the handover of the entries to the prize’s Advisory Board led by Professor Akachi AdimoraEzeigbo on Tuesday, April 15, in Lagos, NLNG’s General Manager for External Relations and Sustainable Development, Dr Sophia Horsfall, attributed the high number of entries to “a surge in literary creativity, demonstrating a reinvigorated passion for creative works and a deepened global awareness of Nigerian literature.”

Horsfall, represented by the Manager of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs, Anne-Marie Palmer-Ikuku, added, “This year’s record entries reaffirm the prize’s impact, proving that Nigerian literature is thriving and commanding greater international recognition.”

While there were 252 entries for The Prize for Literature, the Literary Criticism with a cash reward of $10,000 attracted 37 entries, reflecting a growing commitment to rigorous literary discourse and analysis.

Professor Adimora-Ezeigbo, Chairperson of the Advisory Board, also comprising Professors Ahmed Yerima and Olu Obafemi, expressed optimism that the calibre and volume of entries submitted this year would significantly elevate the quality of the competition.

She noted that the remarkable diversity and depth of literary works would make the adjudication process more compelling and reaffirm the prize’s unwavering commitment to excellence.

She urged the panel of judges to approach the process with the highest standards of integrity and objectivity, upholding the legacy of rigour and distinction that has become the hallmark of the prize.

Professor Adimora-Ezeigbo assured that the Advisory Board is fully engaged and enthusiastic about every stage of the selection process, as this edition may prove to be one of the most competitive in the prize’s history.

Professor Saeedat Bolajoko Aliyu of the Department of English and Linguistics Studies, Kwara State University, is chair of this year’s panel of judges. She will be assisted by a professor of English Language and Literature at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Stephen Mbanefo Ogene and writer and host of Channels Television’s Book Club, Olakunle Kasumu.

An Associate Professor at the Department of African Literature at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, Dr. Grace Musila, serves as the International Consultant for this year’s edition.

Past winners in the Prose Fiction category include Kaine Agary (Yellow Yellow, 2008), Chika Unigwe (On Black Sisters’ Street, 2012), Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (Season of Crimson Blossoms, 2016), and Professor Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia (The Son of the House 2020/21)

Akintayo Abodunrin