| Nigeria Prize for Literature | |
| Current Awards: | --> |
| Image Upright: | --> |
| Awarded For: | Excellence and literary craftsmanship |
| Sponsor: | Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited |
| Date: | Annual |
| Venue: | or |
| Site: | --> |
| Country: | Nigeria |
| Presenter: | Nigerian Academy of Science with advisory board constituted from: |
| Hosts: | --> |
| Holder Label: | Latest recipient |
| Holder: | Obari Gomba |
| Most Wins: | --> |
| Network List: | --> |
| Ratings: | --> |
Nigeria Prize for Literature is a Nigerian literary award given annually since 2004 to honor literary erudition by Nigerian authors. The award rotates among four genres; fiction, poetry, drama and children's literature, repeating the cycle every four years. With the total prize value of to individual winner, it is the biggest literary award in Africa and one of the richest literary awards in the world.
The Prize was established in 2004 and sponsored by Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas company. However the process and judging are administered by Nigerian Academy of Science with advisory board made up of members from Nigeria Academy of Letters and Association of Nigerian Authors.[1]
The Prize was initially $20,000. This was increased to $30,000 in 2006, and again to $50,000 in 2008. In 2011 the prize was increased to $100,000.[2]
Since its inception, the award is normally awarded in October. However, for three non-consecutive years, the panel of the judges were unable to reach a conclusion on a winner, which resulted in the prize not being awarded in 2004, 2009 and 2015.[3]
| Year | Recipient | Book | Genre | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Obari Gomba | Grit | Drama | [4] | |
| 2022 | Romeo Oriogun | Nomad | Poetry | ||
| 2020/2021 | Cheluchi Onyemelukwe | The Son of the House | Prose | [5] | |
| 2019 | Jude Idada | Boom Boom | Children's Literature | [6] | |
| 2018 | Soji Cole | Embers | Drama | ||
| 2017 | Ikeogu Oke[7] | The Heresiad | Poetry | ||
| 2016 | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim[8] | Season of Crimson Blossoms | Prose | ||
| 2015 | Children's literature | No Winner.[9] | |||
| 2014 | Iredi War | Drama | |||
| 2013 | Tade Ipadeola[10] | The Sahara Testaments | Poetry | ||
| 2012 | On Black Sisters Street | Prose | |||
| 2011 | The Missing Clock | Children's literature | |||
| 2010 | Cemetery Road | Drama | Posthumous | ||
| 2009 | Poetry | No Winner [11] | |||
| 2008 | Kaine Agary | Yellow Yellow | Prose | ||
| 2007 | Readers' Theatre: Twelve Plays for Young People | Children's literature | |||
| My Cousin Sammy | Children's literature | ||||
| 2006 | Hard Ground | Drama | |||
| 2005 | The Dreamer: His Vision | Poetry | |||
| Chants of Minstrel | Poetry | ||||
| 2004 | Prose | No Winner. |