PBA ReporterThe Committee for Relevant Art (CORA), promoters of the yearly Lagos Book & Art Festival (LABAF), has called for submission of entries for the 2023 edition of the annual Ken Saro-Wiwa Prize For Book Review.
The prize which is dedicated to the celebration of the life and career of the famous writer and environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed by the Nigeria State on November 10, 1995, is designed to encourage reading and engagement of the published text, which is in tandem with the core objective of the CORA and its prime project, the LABAF.
According to a statement from the Programme Directorate of the festival, signed by the Programme Chair of CORA, Mr Jahman Anikulapo, winners of the prizes will be presented at the 25th edition of LABAF which will be held from November 13 to 19 with the theme: The Reset: History On A Darkling Plain.
The statement gave details of the features and conditions for the Prize as follows:
Modalities:
- Review of the drama text GRIT (by Obari Gomba) – winner of the 2023 Nigeria Prize for Literature worth $100,000
- Entries should be a maximum of 1500 words and minimum of 800 words
- Entries must be submitted latest 12 noon November 10, 2023, to coralabaf@gmail.com
- The competition opens to only those in Age bracket: 18-25 years.
The statement said shortlisted entries will be announced on Monday, November 13, while overall winner will be on Wednesday, November 15. The conferment of Prize on Winner will done on Friday, November 17 at Freedom Park, Lagos.
Winner of the Nigeria Prize for Literature (NPL) 2023, Obari Gomba, will be the Special guest of Honour; Andy Odey, General Manager, ER & SD, Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG), guest of honour.
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Nature of Prizes
Prizes will be announced in the course of preparation for the Lagos Book & Art Festival LABAF 2023 – November 13-19. The winner and two runners-up will win Prizes denominated in Literary materials and tools. The winning review would be widely published in the media and in reputable journals.
About the KS-W Prize
The prize project was launched in 2015 on the occasion of the 17th LABAF, which was dedicated to mark the 20th anniversary of the state killing of Saro-Wiwa, himself a keen observer, commentator, and critic of the quality of literature being produced in the country in his time.
The project is designed to further a key objective of the CORA and LABAF which is deepening the culture of reading and engagement of content of literary works, particularly fiction, drama, poetry and non-fiction – all the genres where the late author, Ken Saro-Wiwa, excelled in his illustrious writing career.
About LABAF 2023
The statement explained that the theme for the 2023 edition – THE RESET: History and the Darkling Plain, “Is designed to – through written texts and performances in drama, music, poetry and the visual arts etc – reflect on the various critical points in the history of Nigeria, especially as we settled into a new political dispensation, and by extension the histories of rest of Africa and the world. The essence is to mine those lessons in the political and cultural history of the nation to plot a progressive direction for its future.
“The Festival’s main programme iterations include: Conversations around ideas contained in the books of the festival – relevant to the theme of the festival; Readings, Reviews and sessions on Writing and Publishing; Exhibitions of Books and Visual Arts; Workshops and Mentoring Sessions for young people; Performances in Poetry, Drama, Music, Dance etc; Arthouse celebrations of eminent artistes and culture workers who have registered their names and footprints in the cause of nation building – the idea is to set them up as role models for both old and young people – to inspire hope, motivate them to aspire to greater accomplishments in their chosen careers or vocation.”
About LABAF
It said that “LABAF is a 7-day Cultural Picnic, featuring literacy campaign activities that include: Reading Sessions, conversations around Books, Books Exhibition, Workshops on Arts and Crafts, Live Music, Drama and Dance performances.
“The first three days of the festival feature strictly literary arts activities, including: BookTreks, Publishers’ Forum, Writers’ workshop and such other engagements with students and youths. Overall, LABAF is a carnivalesque atmosphere created to make Books and the Arts look Cool, while celebrating Ideas and Life in general.”
About CORA
“CORA is an art advocacy group consisting of artistes, art enthusiasts, art promoters and art writers committed to the flowering of all the contemporary arts of the Nigerian and African people. It has organised, every year since 1999, the Lagos Book & Art Festival, (LABAF), critically described as ‘the biggest Culture picnic on the African continent.’”
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