The Advisory Board for The Nigeria Prize for Literature Friday released the longlist of 11 drawn from 287 books in the running for the 2022 edition of the prize, focused on Poetry.

The literature prize is sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) with a cash award of $100,000.

The 11 books on the longlist, in alphabetical order by the title of the books, are:

Augusta’s Poodle by Ogaga Ifowodo     

Coming Undone As Stitches Tighten by Iquo DianaAbasi        

Dispossessed by James Eze

Ife Testament by Olusegun Adekoya      

Memory and the Call of Waters by S. Su’eddie Agema

Nomad by Romeo Oriogun

The Lilt of The Rebel by Obari Gomba   

The Love Canticles by Chijioke Amu Nnadi       

Wanderer Cantos by Remi Raji

Yawns and Belches by Joe Ushie  

Your Crib, My Qibla by Saddiq Dzukogi 

The list was presented to the Advisory Board by the Chairman, Panel of Judges for this year’s prize, Sule Emmanuel Egya, a professor of African Literature and Cultural Studies at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State. Other judges are Toyin Adewale-Gabriel and Dike Chukwumerije. Adewale-Gabriel is a Poet and fiction writer. Dike Chukwumerije is a Spoken Word and Performance Poet and an award-winning author.

The Judges described the long list of eleven as the best of contemporary Nigerian Poetry, rich in experimentation with language, style and theme.

Accepting the recommended longlist, the Advisory Board commended the thorough work done by the judges. Reacting on behalf of the Board, Professor Akachi Adimora- Ezeigbo, the chairman, said the quality of work in the list shows that a lot of scrutiny and work went into selecting deserving poets who have distinguished themselves by the quality of their submissions.

The Judges will also continue adjudication on the 87 entries for The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism, which runs concurrently with The Nigeria Prize for Literature.   The literary criticism prize carries a monetary value of N1 million.

The Nigeria Prize for Literature rotates yearly amongst four literary categories – prose fiction, poetry, drama, and children’s literature.

A shortlist of three is expected in September. A winner, if any, will be announced by the Advisory Board in October.