The judges for the 2016 GREEN AUTHOR PRIZE’ (GAP) have been announced. On this years’ panel are three established Nigerian poets – GOODNESS OLANREWAJU AYOOLA, award-winning author of Meditations; SALAMATU SULE, poet and founder of Fahimta Literary Discourse (FLD); DAVID ISHAYA OSU, a poet and editor at Panorama: The Journal of Intelligent Travel; and UCHE UWADINACHI, an award-winning performance poet and the author.
The GREEN AUTHOR PRIZE (GAP) is an annual book prize awarded to four Nigerian poets under the age of twenty-four (24). The Judges will choose awardees from four zones: NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, and WEST of the country (READ MORE ABOUT GAP).
GOODNESS OLANREWAJU AYOOLA, author of Meditations (poetry) is an award-winning poet from Osun State, Nigeria. His poetry has appeared in numerous poetry journals and some of his poems have been translated into Assamese Language by Poet Abani Buraguani from India. Ayoola has a Nigerian Certificate in Education in English and Yoruba Languages from the Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta, and a B.A (ed) in English from the University of Ilorin, Ilorin. Ayoola works as a teacher of English. He is also an International Director of World Union of Poets and Official for the World Union of Poets Presidency for Africa (Tribuno).
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SALAMATU SULE, founder of Fahimta Literary Discourse (FLD), is a graduate of English & Literary Studies from the Kogi State University, Ayingba. She is a poet and one of Nigeria’s finest book reviewers, having reviewed several books, both fiction and nonfiction, by prolific authors – from Tope Fausua’s Crushed and Things to do before your Career Disappears to Abubakar Ibrahim Adam’s ‘The Whispering Trees’, to Dike Chukwumerije’s Urichindere and Season of Crimson Blossoms by Abubakar Ibrahim Adam. Sule is also a former Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). She currently works for the Art Heritage Ltd and holds a Diplomatic Book Discourse with the German Embassy.
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DAVID ISHAYA OSU is a board member of the Babishai Niwe Poetry Foundation based in Uganda. Among numerous publications, his appears in Chiron Review, The Lampeter Review, CutBank, Vinyl, Transition, Pittsburgh Poetry Review, The Nottingham Review. His works are also published in anthologies including: RædLeaf Poetry: The African Diaspora Folio, A Thousand Voices Rising: An Anthology of Contemporary African Poetry, Maintenant 10: A Journal of Contemporary Dada Writing & Art. David is a fellow of Ebedi International Writers Residency, and is currently the poetry editor at Panorama: The Journal of Intelligent Travel. If David is not reading and writing and sharing poetry, then he is not alive.
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UCHE UWADINACHI is an award-winning performance poet and the author of poetry collections, ‘SCAR IN THE HEART OF PAIN.’ He was the 1st Prize winner of ANA Lagos Poetry Performance Festival (LASPOFEST) Prize 2006, 2nd Prize Poetry Winner of Ken Saro-Wiwa Contest USA 2010, 2nd runner-up in the National Poetry Slam Competition 2012 , 3rd prize winner for Poetry at the FNL POETRY Competition 2012 and Top Poetry Winner (March) of the African Street Writer 2013. Uche claimed the SECOND spot in the EGC-backed list of ‘TOP 50 Contemporary Poets that Rocked Nigeria in Year 2013’. He performed at the Port Harcourt World Book Capital Event and at Wole Soyinka’s 80th Birthday celebration in 2014. At the Nigerian Writer’s Awards 2016, Uche was awarded the Spoken Word Poet of the Year 2015. He presently works with METRO FM Lagos and blogs at www.priestofpoetry.blogspot.com. **********************
