252 Novelists Set To Compete For $100,000 Literature Prize

SATURDAY April 19, 2025 |
By thenewsdesk.ng

252 novelists will be competing for the $100,000 literature prize of the Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG).

The organisers of the competition said the 2025 edition would be the fiercest competition in the Prize’s history.

At a press conference held in Lagos, NLNG’s General Manager for External Relations and Sustainable Development, Sophia Horsfall, represented by Anne-Marie Palmer-Ikuku, Manager of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs, handed over the entries to the Prize’s Advisory Board, led by literary icon and past winner, Prof AkachiAdimora-Ezeigbo.

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.

They also disclosed that the number of entries not only surpassed the 2024 figure of 163 but also exceeded the 2021 Prose Fiction cycle, which saw 202 submissions.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, 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 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.”