The Abebi Award in Afro-Nonfiction / How to Submit (Prize: N250,000)

The Abebi Award in Afro-Nonfiction is open for submission of essays by  Nigerian Women.

The Abebi Award in Afro-Nonfiction exists to shine a much-needed light on nonfiction from Africa, in the form of personal narratives written by Nigerian women, in close proximity to the country and its myriads of joys and sorrows. Named after  Alhaja Abebi Monsurat Lasaki, this award exists to celebrate bold women writers who are unshackled by cultures of silence and shame, belting the chorus of their voices for all to hear. 

The 2023 Abebi Award in Afro-Nonfiction will be judged by Ajoke Bodunde and Ope Adedeji and Mofiyinfoluwa O.

The 2023 Abebi Award in Afro-Nonfiction is generously sponsored by Jadesola Osiberu (CEO of GREOH STUDIOS).

Submission Guidelines for the Abebi Award in Afro-Nonfiction

• The award is open to Nigerian women, 18 and above who were born in, grew up in, or have significant lived experience within and proximity to the country. They encourage entries from queer women.
• The award is open to writers who have not published a complete body of work, and will not have done so by December 2023.
• All entries should be submitted to abebiaward@gmail.com, attached in doc. form. The attached entries should not bear any identifying information in the attached document as all submissions will be considered anonymously. The body of the email submission however should please include;
  • the writer’s full name, 
  • city of residence in Nigeria,
  • and a brief bio.
• All entries should be nonfiction: i.e. real life stories derived from true events from the writer’s life.  You should ensure your writing is eloquent for this submission.
• All entries should be within the range of 1,500–3,000 words in length
• A winner will be announced on the 1st of December, along with a runner up and three notable entries.

Prizes

• The winner will be awarded N150,000 and the first runner up will be awarded N100,000.
• The winner, runner up and three notable entries will be invited to a two-day writer’s residency in Lagos, in December followed by a reading event to celebrate the first year of the award. Further details will be released closer to the aforementioned time.

Deadline

Submissions will open from the 1st of October 2023 and close on the 14th of November 2023 at 6pm WAT.

To learn more about this award, do visit the Twitter Page of the award host. You should also check out ways to improve and make money from your essay.