The judges for the ₦100,000 Eriata Oribhabor Poetry Prize (EOPP) 2020 have been announced. They are S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema, Funke Awodiya, Kolade Olanrewaju Freedom and Jide Badmus. All four judges are respected Nigerian poets with several published works.
Entries were received for the N100,000 prize from September 2020 to December 2020 on the themes of Unity, Truth, Justice, Change and Sustainable Development in society, with focus on Nigeria – her people, cultures, experiences, hopes, and aspirations.
JUDGES PROFILES
S. SU’EDDIE VERSHIMA AGEMA is a husband and father, an editor and development worker. He is the team Leader at SEVHAGE Publishers and Literary Movement as well as Convener, Benue Book and Arts Festival. Among other awards, he won the Association of Nigerian Authors’ Prize for Poetry (2014) and Mandela Day Short Story Prize (2016), was nominated for the Abubakar Gimba Prize for Short Stories (2015), the Wole Soyinka Prize for African Literature (2018) and the ANA Prize for Children’s Literature (2019). Su’eddie recently completed a master’s in International Education and Development at the University of Sussex where he was Curator, Black History Month/Project and founding President of African Writers. He blogs at http://sueddie.wordpress.com and is @sueddieagema on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook
FUNKE AWODIYA is an author, a medical sociologist, poet, social campaigner, social entrepreneur, and sickle cell advocate. She is a foundation member of Poets In Nigeria (PIN), member, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). She has published two poetry collections: “The Farmer’s Daughter” and “Woman of a Woman”. Funke writes from Ijaye – Ojokoro, Lagos, Nigeria.
KOLADE OLANREWAJU FREEDOM is a poet, editor, publisher, digital media strategist and author of ‘The Light Bearer, a collection of poems published in 2013. His works have appeared on several platforms including the ANA Review (2015 & 2016), The Year of the Poet (2015 & 2018), AFAS Review, The Guardian Newspaper, Pulse.NG and elsewhere. He has also co-edited several poetry anthologies. A graduate of Communication & Language Arts from the University of Ibadan, Kolade is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Words Rhymes & Rhythm Limited and the Executive Secretary of Poets in Nigeria (PIN) for which he moderates the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize (NSPP) and the PIN Chapbook Series.
JIDE BADMUS is inspired by beauty and destruction; he believes that things in ruins were once beautiful. He is the author of There is a Storm in my Head, Scripture, Paper Planes in the Rain; and Paradox of Little Fires.
PRIZES TO BE WON:
- First Prize – ₦50,000 cash and books by Eriata Oribhabor
- First Runner-up – ₦30,000 cash and books by Eriata Oribhabor
- Second Runner-up – ₦20,000 cash and books by Eriata Oribhabor
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.
