Akeem Lasisi
There was a harvest of creativity and fulfilment on Sunday when NLNG, in partnership with the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), hosted the first eleven poets longlisted for the 2026 edition of The Nigeria Prize for Literature at the annual CORA Book Party in Lagos.
Many people who gathered at the MUSON Centre for the event savoured top-notch poetry rendition, cultural performances and a renewed promise by NLNG in terms of its sustained mega investment in Nigerian literature as well as film.
The Book Party, which followed the announcement of the 2026 longlist, provided a public
platform for the selected poets to present their works, read selected pieces, and engage with
readers, critics, journalists, publishers, students, and other members of the literary
community. It featured readings, conversations, and discussions around the works selected
for the year’s poetry cycle among other cultural and literary festivities.
The longlisted titles Adult Love by Tanure Ojaide, Bakandimiya by Saddiq Dzukogi, Black Passport by Paul Akpomuje, 2000 Blacks by Ajibola Tolase, Ceremony for The Nameless by Theresa Lola, and Corpus: Animistic Verses by Ayo Oyeku.
Others are Floral’s Love Colony by Tares Oburumu, The Origin of Wounds by Malik Gbolahan, The Years of Blood by Adebayo Agarau, by James Ugwu Eze and by Ogaga Ifowodo.
The longlisted works were selected by the panel of judges appointed for the 2026 edition of
the Prize from 223 entries received, following the call for entries announced in February and
the close of submissions for the poetry cycle. The longlist marks a key stage in the
adjudication process, ahead of the shortlist and the possible announcement of the winner
later in the year.
Speaking at the event, NLNG’s General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable
Development, Sophia Horsfall, said the Book Party emphasised the importance of sustaining
platforms that move literature beyond the page and into public consciousness.
She noted that The Nigeria Prize for Literature was established to recognise exceptional
writing, and to strengthen Nigeria’s culture of reading, critical engagement and creative
expression. This year’s focus on poetry, she added, celebrates a genre capable of distilling
complex truths into powerful language, connecting the personal with the universal and
giving voice to experiences that might otherwise remain unheard.
Inspiring a sustainable future
“The 2026 Poetry cycle attracted 223 entries, each offering a distinct rhythm, perspective
and artistic expression. Together, these submissions attest to the vitality of Nigerian poetry
and to the confidence Nigerian writers continue to place in the NLNG-sponsored Nigeria
Prize for Literature,” she said.
Manager, Corporate Communication and Public Affairs, Anne-Marie Palmer-Ikuku, also reinforced the inspiring message.
Palmer-Ikuku had gone further to announce the shortlist for the newly introduced NLNG prize for filmmakers.
Also speaking, CORA Secretary-General, Mr. Toyin Akinosho, said the Book Party was
designed to create exactly this kind of public literary encounter, where books are not merely
announced, but read, discussed, challenged, and appreciated. He stated that the Book Party
remains an intervention in Nigeria’s literary space because it gives visibility to authors and
encourages direct engagement between writers and readers.
Also speaking, the Secretary-General of the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), Mr Toyin
Akinosho, described the Book Party as a distinctive platform that brings authors into direct
conversation with the reading public ahead of the final announcement of the winner of The
Nigeria Prize for Literature.
Akinosho acknowledged NLNG’s sustained investment in the country’s literary and reading
culture.
“We are here because a profitable Nigerian gas company decided that a way to spend some
share of its profit is to enable the Nigerian reading space. I’d like to thank NLNG for
continuing to support this yearly afternoon of book conversation and the celebration of this
country’s finest authors.”
Concluding his remarks, Akinosho emphasised the distinctive place of the CORA–NPL Book
Party in the literary prize process. He said: “I don’t know of any literary prize process in
which the final award is prefaced by a celebratory event of this nature, at which the authors
face a community of readers in a room and talk about why and how they wrote what they
are offering.”
Now in its 22nd year, The Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by NLNG, rotates annually
among four genres: Prose Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Children’s Literature. The 2026
edition is dedicated to Poetry, with the winner expected to be announced in October. The
Inspiring a sustainable future
CORA Book Party forms part of the activities leading to the final announcement, providing a
public platform for engagement with the longlisted works and their authors.
