Veteran Nigerian poets ADEDAYO AGARAU and OYINDAMOLA SHOOLA are the judges of the 7th edition of the annual Eriata Oribhabor Poetry Prize (EOPP 2018) which has an N50,000 cash prize for three winners. They will choose the winners from over two hundred and twenty-five (225) entries received.
With four poetry collections between them, the judges were selected for their literary achievements. Aarau, a multiple award winner, was a first-runner-up in the 2017 edition of the contest while Oyindamola has authored three books and worked with several young Nigerian writers under her mentorship program. They will bring their wealth of experience to the prize.
The winner of the EOPP 2019 will be announced in March 2019.
JUDGES BIO:
OYINDAMOLA SHOOLA is a writer, author, the Co-founder and CEO of Sprinng Literary Movement, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting Nigerian writers. By providing opportunities such as contests, an online creative-writing mentorship program, giveaways, interviews, book reviews and more, the Sprinng Literary Movement [www.sprinng.org] has reached over 500 Nigerian writers and supported their success. Her books include Heartbeat, To Bee a Honey & The Silence We Eat. She blogs at: www.shoolaoyin.com.
ADEDAYO AGARAU, Author of For Boys Who Went, is a Nigerian documentary photographer and poet. He explores the concept of godhood, boyhood, distance, and absence. His works have been featured on Gaze Mag, Allegro, Obra Artifact, Constellate, Jalada Africa, Geometry, 8poems, BarnHouse, Barren Magazine and elsewhere. His chapbook, Asylum Chapel, is forthcoming from Pen and Anvil Press, Boston. He is on twitter as @adedayo_agarau. His poem, Stones, made the shortlist of Babishai Niwe Poetry Prize in 2018. (Download a free copy of For Boys Who Went here).
ABOUT EOPP:
EOPP was instituted in 2012 as an annual Prize to give the much-needed attention to Nigerian poetry and encourage young Nigerian poets to use poetry as a tool for social change. The yearly contest has become the leading platform for the discovery, encouragement, and celebration of poets in Nigeria.
