Odeh

The Nigeria LNG Limited has published the call for entries for the 2023 edition of The Nigeria Prize for Literature and The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism prizes.

The General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, NLNG, Andy Odeh, announced this at the press briefing last week in Lagos.

The call for entries by the advisory board marks the flag-off of this year’s competitions according to a statement signed by Andy Odeh, General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development.

The Science and Literature prizes, which are now in their 19th year, each come with a cash prize of $100, 000 while the Prize for Literary Criticism has prize money of $10,000.

The Literature Prize, which honours the author of the best book by a Nigerian, rotates among four literary genres, namely Prose Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Children’s Literature, and will this year focus on Drama.

The Literary Criticism Prize, which also aims to promote Nigerian Literature, will receive entries on works in literary criticism of Nigerian Literature, especially critical essays on new writings in Nigerian Literature.

The Call for Entries for the Literature prize and Literary Criticism will close on March 31, while the window for the science prize will close on April 30.

In addition, it was revealed that Professor Ameh Dennis Akoh, a Professor of Drama and Critical Theory at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ebonyi State will chair the panel of judges for this year’s Literature and the Literary Criticism competition.

With over 50 publications in refereed local and international journals and books, he is the former editor of the Nigerian Journal of Indigenous Knowledge and Development, Nigerian Theatre Journal, NTJ, Co-editor of African Nebula, and the UNIOSUN College of Humanities Monograph Series (2009-2016).

Other panel members include Professor Osita Catherine Ezenwanebe and Dr. Rasheedah Liman. Professor Ezenwanebe is a professor of Creative Arts, at the University of Lagos who has written and produced several full-length plays, while Dr. Liman is a Senior lecturer at the Department of Theatre and Performing Arts, Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria, Kaduna State.

The Advisory Board has also announced Professor Victor K. Yankah from the Department of Theatre and Film Studies, the University of Cape Coast, Ghana as the International Consultant.

The winners of the Nigeria Prize for Literature and the Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism, if any, will be announced at an award ceremony in October 2023 to commemorate the anniversary of the first LNG export from the NLNG’s Plant on October 9, 1999.

The Science Prize, which recognises outstanding scientific achievements by Nigerians and non-Nigerians, will focus on Innovation for the Enhancement of Healthcare Therapy this year and is part of Nigeria LNG’s contribution towards helping to build a better Nigeria.