Quramo Publishing has announced the Top 15 entries for the 2019 edition of the annual Quramo Writers’ Prize (QWP) which has become a fixture on Nigeria’s culture calendar and an arbiter of taste for Nigerian literature.
The prize will be awarded on Sunday, 15 December 2019, at the grand finale of the 3-day Quramo Festival of Words (QFest) which will feature workshops, panel discussions, documentary screenings, open mic sessions, and more.
The annual prize, which is awarded to an unpublished fiction manuscript, is in its third year. In 2019, Emmanuel Michael (QWP 2018 winner), an undergraduate, emerged winner for his manuscript Running Waters. Samuel Monye (QWP 2017 winner) was the inaugural winner.
A statement from Toni Kan, head of the 3-member jury for QWP 2019 said, “we received over 400 entries this year. The manuscripts bear testament to a ferment in the Nigerian and African literary landscape. We are convinced that there is a large pool of young literary talent in the country and on the continent, who will ensure that our literature remains alive and vibrant for years to come. My co-judges, Molara Wood and A. Igoni Barrett, are glad to present a shortlist of 15 manuscripts of varying lengths.”
The Top 15 entries are, in in no particular order: Oyedeji Emmanuel Toluwani – Up Nepa; Jaiyeola Temitayo Tomiwa – I’ll be Fine; Golbador Joseph – Let Me Paint You a Picture; Amaranjo Chigozie – Nigerian Dream; Osuizugbe Adaeze Maureen – This Thing Called Marriage; Oni Oluwaseyi Faith – 30 Days To Seventeen; Owoyemi Olorunfemi Akinade – The Familiar Jungle Called Life; Udochukwu, Everest C. – The Shades of a thing Ugly; Oluwaseyi Adebola – A Cluster of Petals (short stories); Obinna Tony-Francis Ochem – Deep Ocean; Wawira Thatiah – Guilty; Joan Ikem Cynthia Chinenyenwa – Twenty Sixty-One; Ikechukwu Nwaogu – The Book of Lost Words; Vivian Onyekachi Ibe -What Dreams are Made of; Cynthia Nnadi Nnenna- Red Grasses and Forbidden Quests.
Commenting on the shortlist, QWP founder and Executive Publisher at Quramo Publishing, Mrs. Gbemi Shasore said, “it is always exciting to read and review new writings, and discover new authors. This is the gift and challenge of promoting the Quramo Writers’ Prize. We are absolutely thrilled with the overwhelming response and quality of submissions this year, a wide variety of talent not just from Nigeria, but from other African countries. I am excited as we count down to crowning a new winner who will go home with N1m and a possibility of having his manuscript published by Quramo Publishing.”
The QWP 2019 winner will be announced at the Award Unveiling on Sunday, 15 December 2019, which will signal the culmination of the 3-day Quramo Festival of Words (QFest), featuring writing masterclasses and workshops, panel discussions, book readings, a stage play, open mic sessions and film screenings.