Books
Activities swirling around this year’s edition of The Nigeria Literature Prize (sponsored by NLNG) have started revving up with its advisory board’s recent announcement of a shortlist of 11. This shortlist – which not a few literary enthusiasts would rather call a longlist – was drawn from 202 entries in contention for this year’s – 2021 – edition of the prize. Another shortlist of three, from which a possible winner could emerged, is expected to be announced in September, a statement signed by the NLNG’s General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development Eyono Fatayi-Williams reminded the literary community.
The prize, which rotates annually among four broad literary categories – namely, prose fiction, poetry, drama and children’s literature – is worth $100,000, which will be awarded by the advisory board in October. It runs concurrently with the Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism (also sponsored by NLNG), which is valued at N1 million. Talking about the latter, four entries for it were received in 2020. Meanwhile, the current shortlist of 11, which was presented by the chairman of the prize’s judging panel the University of Ibadan’s professor of Literature in English Toyin Jegede, consists of the following books: Delusion of Patriots by Obianuju V. Chukwuorji, Give Us Each Day by Samuel Monye, Imminent River by Anaele Ihuoma, In the Name of Our Father by Olukorede S. Yishau, Mountain of Yesterday by Tony Nwaka, Neglected by Lucy Chiamaka Okwuma, The Colours of Hatred by Obinna Udenwa, The Girl with The Louding Voice by Abi Dare, The Return of Half- Something by Chukwudi Eze, The Son of The House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia and Your Church My Shrine by Law Ikay Ezeh.