Eleven poets shortlisted for the 2026 Nigeria Prize for Literature are set to be celebrated this Sunday at the 17th CORA-Nigeria Prize for Literature Book Party in Lagos.
The event, organised by the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), will be held at the Shell Zenith Hall, MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, commencing at 1 p.m.
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The session will spotlight the 11 poetry collections selected for the longlist of the annual prize, which is sponsored by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).
PREMIUM TIMES reported in April that the 2026 edition of the competition received 223 entries, with poetry designated as this year’s genre.The longlisted poets
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The longlisted works, presented in alphabetical order, are:
- Adult Love by Tanure Ojaide;
- Bakandamiya: An Elegy by Saddiq Dzukogi;
- Black Passport by Paul Akpomuje;
- 2000 Blacks by Ajibola Tolase;
- Ceremony for The Nameless by Theresa Lola;
- Corpus: Animistic Verses by Ayo Oyeku;
- Floral’s Love Colony by Tares Oburumu;
- The Origin of Wounds by Rasaq Malik Gbolahan;
- The Years of Blood by Adedayo Agarau;
- Unbind Me Now by James Ugwu Eze; and
- Why Does God Need a Gun? by Ogaga Ifowodo.
The Book Party is expected to foster dialogue between the poets and their readers, complemented by performances and other literary activities. According to CORA, the event is designed to allow the public to engage directly with the books that have emerged as the strongest entries in the competition.
A prize worth $100,000
The Nigeria Prize for Literature was established in 2004 by NLNG to recognise outstanding literary works by Nigerian authors. The prize, initially valued at $20,000, was subsequently increased to $50,000 and currently stands at $100,000, making it one of the most valuable literary awards on the continent.
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The competition rotates annually among four genres—prose fiction, poetry, drama, and children’s literature—with a different genre selected each year. The 2026 edition is dedicated to poetry.
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From book party to literary festival
The CORA-Nigeria Prize for Literature Book Party evolved from CORA’s broader Book Party initiative, which commenced in 1996. This special edition was created to provide an avenue for readers to interact with the works submitted for the competition and the writers behind them.
CORA is a collective of artists, art enthusiasts, promoters, and writers committed to advancing contemporary Nigerian and African arts. The organisation also hosts the annual Lagos Book & Art Festival (LABAF), which is scheduled to take place from 16 to 22 November this year under the theme, “The WORKOVER Starts, NOW.”
The 2026 CORA-Nigeria Prize for Literature Book Party will also accommodate virtual participants and will be streamed live on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
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