Nigeria Prize for Literature marks new level with record 252 entries

…As 2025 edition begins, to witness fiercest competition

With record 252 entries received for the 2025 edition of The Nigeria Prize for Literature, the annual and most-rewarding literary competition in Africa, has ushered a new level for quality of entries, amid setting the stage for the fiercest competition in the prize’s history.

The number of entries for this year’s prose fiction cycle, not only surpassed the 2024 figure of 163 but also exceeded the 2021 Prose Fiction cycle, which saw 202 submissions.

While announcing the record entries for this year’s edition, at a ceremony in Lagos on Tuesday, the Advisory Board of the prize, sponsored by NLNG, disclosed that the stakes have never been higher and the literary stage is set ablaze.

At the ceremony, Sophia Horsfall, general manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, NLNG, who was represented by Anne-Marie Palmer-Ikuku, manager, Corporate Communication and Public Affairs, handed over the entries to the prize’s Advisory Board, led by Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, a professor, literary icon and past winner of the prize.

The entries were subsequently presented to the panel of judges, officially marking the start of what promises to be an intense and highly competitive adjudication process.

Speaking further, 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.

“This year’s record entries reaffirm the prize’s impact, proving that Nigerian literature is not only thriving but also commanding greater international recognition”, Horsfall said.

“Today’s handover ceremony is a proof of the ingenuity, dedication, and relentless drive of NLNG, our respected advisory boards and judges, and every writer who has entered either for the Literature prize or the Literary Criticism prize. Our commitment to advancing excellence in the quality of literature to improve reading and literacy appetite through these nobel prizes is in consonance with NLNG’s aspiration of improving lives sustainably,”she added.

In her comment, Professor Adimora-Ezeigbo, chairperson of the Advisory Board, 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 not only make the adjudication process more compelling, but also reaffirm the prize’s unwavering commitment to literary 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. According to her, the Advisory Board is fully engaged and anticipates every stage of the selection process with enthusiasm, as this edition may prove to be one of the most competitive in the history of the Prize.

Also, the Advisory Board announced the receipt of 37 entries for The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism.

The Literature Prize carries a monetary award of $100,000, while the Literary Criticism Prize winner will receive $10,000.

This year’s panel of judges is chaired by Saeedat Bolajoko Aliyu, a professor, of the Department of English and Linguistics Studies, Kwara State University. Other members of the panel include; Stephen Mbanefo Ogene, a professor of English Language and Literature at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and Olakunle Kasumu, writer, filmmaker, producer, and host of Channels Television’s Book Club.

Grace Musila, an associate professor in the Department of African Literature at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, serves as the International Consultant for this year’s edition.

Notable 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, whose novel, The Son of the House clinched the Prize in the 2020/21 edition. The inaugural edition of the Prize for Prose Fiction in 2004 did not produce a winner.

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

With top authors contending for the top honour and the judges tasked with identifying the very best, the 2025 edition of The Nigeria Prize for Literature promises to be an epic literary showdown.

Regarded as Africa’s most prestigious literary prize and one of the richest globally, The Nigeria Prize for Literature continues to set the standard for literary excellence.