Nigeria Prize for Literature Releases 2024 Longlist
The longlist for the 2024 Nigeria Prize for Literature has been released!
The Nigeria Prize for Literature is an annual award founded by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas company (NLNG). The winner receives a cash prize of $100,000. The winner will be announced in October, 2024.
The prize focuses on one of four rotating genres each year—prose fiction, poetry, drama, and children’s fiction. This year, children’s fiction takes the spotlight for the first time since 2019. Last year, the Nigerian writer Obari Gomba won the 2023 NLNG Prize for Literature for his play Grit.
The 11 children’s books on this year’s longlist are:
• A Father’s Pride by Ndidi Chiazor-Enenmo
• Bode’s Birthday Party by Akanni Festus Olaniyi
• Grandma and the Moon’s Hidden Secret by Jumoke Verissimo
• Mighty Mite and Golden Jewel by Henry Akubuiro
• Risi Recycle – The Dustbin Girl by Temiloluwa Adeshina
• The Children at the IDP Camp by Olatunbosun Taofeek
• The Magic Jalabiya by Ayo Adeliyi Oyeku
• The Road Does Not End by Familoni Oluranti Olubunmi
• The Third Side of a Coin by Hyginus Ekwuazi
• Village Boy by Anietie Usen
• Wish Maker by Uchechkwu Peter Umezurike
At $100,000, the NLNG prize is one of the largest literary prizes in the world. The NLNG was established in 2004 with an initial award of $20,000. As the contest grew, so did the prize. First, it was increased to $30,000 in 2006, then to $50,000 in 2008, and finally to its current status in 2011.
Although the Nigeria Prize for Literature is sponsored by NLNG, the Nigerian Academy of Science is responsible for managing the process and evaluation, with an advisory board consisting of individuals from the Nigeria Academy of Letters and the Association of Nigerian Authors. This collaborative effort among these diverse organizations showcases a commendable synergy within the Nigerian academic and literary spheres.
Prominent past winners of the prize include children’s book author Jude Idada for Boom Boom in 2019, novelist Abubakar Adam Ibrahim for Season of Crimson Blossoms in 2016, and author and professor Chika Unigwe for On Black Sisters Street in 2012.
