The Nigerian-American Multi-Service Association (NAMSA) has released a list of 7 (seven) judges that will preside over the 2023 edition of its annual writing competition known as “Writing for Righting.”

Prize-wining Nigerian poet, James Eze is named among the seven judges drawn mostly from the United States of America who shall decide the winners of the contest which carries a prize of $10,500 (ten thousand five hundred dollars).

Eze is the author of two critically acclaimed volumes of poetry including “dispossessed” which won the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Poetry Prize 2020 and was long-listed for the Nigeria Literature Prize 2022 and “Goosebumps,” his newest book which was released in July 2023. Eze is the member of the panel that is based in Nigeria.

Other judges on the panel include Lauren Barthold (PhD), a philosophy professor at Emerson College and Executive Director of Healthcare Centre for Cultural Engagement, Beverly, MA. Bathold is reported to possess a philosophical interest in dialogue and American Pragmatism, combined with a deep interest in engaging the youths in the democratic practice of dialogue.

Also listed is Leanne Wetherbee, a lover of art and the art of writing who is fascinated by writing as a creative process that helps readers understand the world through multiple lenses. Leanne works in the Corporate Actions Department at Brown Brothers Harriman, Boston.

Another judge on the panel is Nicole Wilson, a PhD candidate in Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who has worked on several projects in Nigeria and is a member of the Lagos Studies Association.

Next is Amy Tighe, an environmental activist who has been at the forefront of community-based endeavours to protect vulnerable places and people. Amy who holds a graduate degree from Boston University regularly facilitates trainings on leadership and storytelling techniques.

Also listed among the seven judges is Nneka Faison, a Neiman Fellow at Harvard who holds degrees from Princeton and Columbia universities. Nneka is an assistant News Director at ABC-7 Chicago. She has also worked as a producer and executive producer at WCVB-TV in Boston. Nneka is an American with Nigerian parents.

Nigerian Born Rahman Oladigbolu is also among the judges. Oladigbolu is a Boston-based award-winning filmmaker/storyteller. Harvard trained Oladigbolu is passionate about telling the untold stories of people of African descent and other minorities in America.

According to the President of NAMSA, Mr Nnanna, “Writing for Righting” is open only to Nigerian- American students who are either in high school or college in the US or anyone of Nigerian ancestry who is resident in the United States.

Entries for this year’s edition of the competition closed on August 20, 2023. There are three broad categories in the awards – High School, Middle School and College.

Winners of the competition shall be honoured at an award ceremony which will take place on October 7, 2023 in Boston Massachusetts, USA.

The Nigerian American Multi-Service Association (NAMSA) is a non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is dedicated to promoting and preserving the culture and heritage of all people of Nigerian/African descent in the United States. NAMSA celebrates the contributions of Nigerian Americans in the United States and helps new immigrants integrate better into the larger American society.

NAMSA also runs a workforce empowerment programme that helps new Nigerian immigrants and immigrants of African descent from other parts of the world acquire important skills that launch them into the American labour market.

In the time being, 25 immigrants from Nigeria, Tanzania, Jamaica, Honduras, Haiti and the Dominican Republic are undergoing training courtesy of NAMSA that would make them employable to American employers.