The SEVHAGE Literary and Development Initiative and the ALINEA Initiative will soon launch the Eugenia Abu/SEVHAGE International Prize for Creative Nonfiction.
The award is named after renowned writer, radio and television presenter and media consultant Eugenia Abu and is designed to recognise outstanding writers of creative non-fiction and highlight voices that challenge, inspire and provide deep insights into the human experience, according to a statement seen by BusinessDay.
“The award is also supported by an endowment from Dr. Victor Oladokun, Senior Advisor to the President for Communications and Stakeholder Engagement, the African Development Bank Group and some anonymous donors,” the statement said.
The Eugenia Abu/SEVHAGE International Prize for Creative Nonfiction is a central component of the SEVHAGE Literary Prizes 2024, which include categories for fiction and critical essays.
“Professor Hyginus Ekwuazi, a multi-award-winning author of various genres, scholar, professor of broadcast media and former Vice-Chancellor of the Dominican University Ibadan, will serve as chief judge at this year’s awards ceremony and ensure the selection of entries of the highest quality,” the statement added.
The organisations also called for competition entries, some of which will be shown at the SEVHAGE festival in England.
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“Submissions for the Eugenia Abu/SEVHAGE International Prize for Creative Nonfiction are open and will close on August 29, 2024 at 11:59 PM WAT. The competition is open to writers from all over the world and entry is free. The winner will receive a cash prize of 750,000 Naira and their work will be published, with additional opportunities for other shortlisted entries.
“We are honored to dedicate this year’s Creative Nonfiction Writing Award to Eugenia Abu, one of Nigeria’s most beloved radio and television presenters, an award-winning author and an outstanding mentor,” said Su’ur Su’eddie Vershima Agema, Executive Director and President of SEVHAGE.
Eugenia Abu is one of Nigeria’s leading broadcast journalists and has won several awards including the NMMA award for Best News Anchor of the Year 1995.
She anchored the news on the NTA flagship station for 17 years and retired from active public service after 34 years of service as Acting Director of Programmes.
Eugenia has been writing weekly columns for national newspapers BusinessDay and Sunday Trust for over a decade.
The SEVHAGE Literary Prizes are a series of annual literary and arts awards organised by the SEVHAGE Literary and Development Initiative and SEVHAGE Publishers (a branch of SEVHAGE Integrated Services Ltd) in collaboration with various partners.
