2023 LITERARY PRIZES: ANA CALLS FOR ENTRIES
By: Wole Adedoyin
The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) has recently announced its literary prizes for the year 2023. The prizes cover various genres of literature, including poetry, prose fiction, drama, and children's literature. Nigerian writers, both at home and abroad, are encouraged to submit their works for consideration in any of the categories. Entries for the competition should have been published between 2022 and 2023.
To enter, authors or publishers are required to pay a fee of N3,000 per entry, which is for the purpose of prize administration only. A photocopy of the appropriate deposit slip must be submitted along with the entry. Six copies of the book or manuscript being entered must be sent alongside a covering letter containing accurate contact details of the writer or publisher, including email and surface mail addresses and telephone numbers.
The works that are to be submitted in all categories should be original and not recast(s) of already existing works. The submissions are subjected to copyright laws of Nigeria, and authors retain full responsibility for any sort of infringement. Works entered into the ANA prizes are expected to be of the highest language and literary quality.
For the ANA/ Maria Ajima Prize for Literary Criticism (published works only), entries must not exceed 15 pages of A4 paper size, following the format of academic essays. The essay, if published in a journal, newspaper, books, or as electronic text online, must be within the valid dates indicated on this call for submissions. Referencing style is either the latest MLA or APA style. Five hard copies as loose sheets or as a bound monograph are to be submitted to ANA via Address: KILOMETRE 2, MammanVatsa Writers' Village, Mpape, Abuja, plus a soft copy sent by email to info.ananigeria@yahoo.com and maikortserga@gmail.com.
The essay should not be a generalized survey but rather be focused on specific texts (in any of the genres) of selected authors at a time. The essay should state where the texts or performance analyzed can be accessed or located and where it (essay) has been published. All entries in this category should be accompanied by a letter affirming the originality of the essay and authorial authenticity. In addition, all other rules covering ANA competitions are applicable.
The deadline for the receipt of all entries is June 28th, 2023, and there will be no extension of this deadline. A shortlist will be announced in September 2023, and the winners of the prizes will be announced by the judges at the Awards Dinner during the International Annual Convention of the Association of Nigerian Authors in November 2023.
The ANA/KMVL Prize for Poetry (Published) comes with a cash prize of N500,000, while the ANA Prize for Prose Fiction (Published & Unpublished) and ANA Prize for Drama (Published & Unpublished) come with a cash prize of N100,000 each. The ANA Prize for Children's Literature- 7-13 Years Age Range (Published Works Only and Open To All Categories Of Authors) and ANA/Vivi Sam Prize for Children Poetry 7-15 Years Age Range (Published Works Only and Open To All Categories Of Authors) come with a cash prize of N100,000 each.
The ANA/Abubakar Gimba Prize for Fiction (Short Stories Collection-Published) comes with a cash prize of N200,000. The ANA/Maria Ajima Prize for Literary Criticism (Focus On Criticism Of Emergent Nigerian Literature) comes with a cash prize of N100,000, while the ANA/Jerry Agada Prize For Idoma Language Literature”(Published & Unpublished) comes with a cash prize of N150,000.