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Poets association opens entry for Nigerian students poetry prize

The call for entries has been announced for the 2019 Nigerian Students Poetry Prize (NSPP), an initiative of Poets in Nigeria (PIN). This is the 4th in the series.
The award is aimed at stimulating literary creativity, promoting literary excellence and encouraging critical thinking among Nigerian undergraduates.
In a statement emailed to Apex News, this year’s Moderator, Kolade Olanrewaju Freedom, said submissions will be received between January 15 and March 15, 2019.
He said interested all Nigerian undergraduates studying in Nigeria and the diaspora, are expected to submit a poem of a maximum of 30 lines on any theme of their choice with poems original intellectual property of the entrants.

Prof. Christian Anieke with NSPP 2018 winner, Godstime Iberiyenari

NSPP 2018 winners


Unveiling of NSPP at Niger Delta University

Other guidelines for the competition are, entries submitted must be previously unpublished and any submission discovered to have defaulted on this rule will be automatically voided including the winners, all entrants are expected to purchase at least one of the three NSPP anthologies uploaded on the submission portal, under no condition will the judges’ unanimous decisions be challenged, entering for the contest gives PIN automatic right to make use of entries as deemed appropriate, entries must be written in English with native terminologies must be translated in English as footnotes and entrants should subscribe to poetsinnigeria.org.ng for regular updates.
According to him, the first winner will receive a cash prize of N150, 000, second, N100, 000 and third place goes home with N50, 000.
Freedom also noted that the top 100 entrants will each receive a certificate of excellence and complimentary copy of the NSPP anthology which features their works.
According to the Moderator, since inception in 2016 at the University of Ibadan, the prize has received over 1500 entries from students representing over 100 tertiary institutions. These included universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, schools of nursing and seminary schools.
Reputed to be the foremost poetry prize for Nigerian students, the NSPP has been hosted by institutions such as University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 2017 and Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu, 2018.
As host of the fourth edition, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, will be the venue for the NSPP awards ceremony slated for mid-2019.
Previous grand prize winners of the prize include Noah Oladele, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, 2016, Bakre Fadil Adedamola (University of Ibadan; 2017 and Godstime Tamunofiri Iberiyenari, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Yenagoa, 2018.
The President, Association of Nigerian Authors, Denja Abdullahi, Prof. Akachi Ezeigbo, Joint Winner of The Nigeria Prize for Literature, 2007 and Ismail Bala, literary critic and lecturer, Bayero University, Kano, chaired the judging panel for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 editions of the prize respectively.

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