Entries open for young, unpublished Nigerian poets

Words Rhymes & Rhythm Publishers (WRR Ltd) has announced the call for entries to the 2016 Green Author Prize (GAP) for young, unpublished Nigerian poets between the ages of fourteen (14) and twenty-four (24).

Participating poets must be Nigerians who are yet to publish a full book and are resident in Nigeria.

According to the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of WRR, Kukogho Iruesiri Samson, the prize was initiated to give upcoming Nigerian poets a chance to get their works published.

“We started this prize last year when we realized that the cost of publishing in Nigeria has dashed the publishing hopes of most of the talented writers we work with,” he said.

“Such a prize, dedicated to youths and poetry, becomes is even clearer when you consider the fact that most prizes are restricted to fiction writers.”

The judges for this year's Green Author Prize are four renowned writers – GoodnessOlanrewaju Ayoola, award-winning author of Meditations; Salamatu Sule, poet and founder of Fahimta Literary Discourse (FLD); David Ishaya Osu, a poet and editor at Panorama: The Journal of Intelligent Travel; and Uche Uwadinachi, an award-winning performance poet and the author.

The 2015 Green Author Prize (GAP) was won by Vanger Fater, a 23-year-old poet from Benue State; Wazabi Adamu Ijarafu, a 22-year-old poet from Adamawa state; Onwuasoanya Chika Jones, a 24-year-old poet from Imo state; and Ayomide Festus, a 22-year-old poet from Osun state.

Now in its second year, the GREEN AUTHOR PRIZE (GAP) is the only poetry book prize for Nigerian poets.

See below for more information about the prize and the list of entry criteria:

Select EXACTLY TWENTY (20) poems in a Microsoft Word document using TIMES NEW ROMAN font. All the poems should be in ONE MANUSCRIPT

Indicate your NAMES, AGE, STATE OF ORIGIN and ZONE at the top of the document

Send your entry as an email to SUBMISSIONS@WRR.NG with the document [containing the 20 poems]as attachment

Include your contact details and 150 word bio in the body of the email

Poems can be on ANY THEME and any form

All poems must be the ORIGINAL work of the poet submitting it.

Previously published poems (on social media, blogs and anthologies) are allowed.

Four poets will emerge winners of an all-expense-paid, joint-authorship book deal worth N300,000. The quartet will be selected from four zones – North, South, East, and West of Nigeria, by a panel of judges made up of established, young writers.

Winners will be honored at the WRR Literary festival, scheduled for October 2016.

For more information visit www.authorpedia.wrr.ng/GAP-2016.

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