My Best Nigerian Book Contest

Myne Whitman on July 4th, 2010

 

NaijaStories.com, in partnership with Farafina Books, Cassava Republic and Dada Books, is pleased to announce another online writing contest titled “My Best Nigerian Book”. The purpose in running this particular contest is to encourage and inspire everyone to read more Nigerian books. Our Partners are publishers in the business of making available and promoting books written by Nigerians, and about Nigeria or Nigerians, all around the world. Naija Stories wants you to

Read the classics – Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe), The PalmWine Drinkard (Amos Tutuola), Jagua Nana (Cyprian Ekwensi), The Bride Price (Buchi Emecheta).

Read history – Ovonramwen Nogbaisi (Ola Rotimi), memoirs and biographies, Ake (Wole Soyinka), On a Darkling Plain (Ken Saro Wiwa).

Read contemporary fiction – Purple Hibiscus (Chimamanda Adichie), Unbridled (Jude Dibia), Zahrah the Windseeker (Nnedi Okoroafor), In Dependence (Sarah Manyika), Abyssinian Boy (Onyeka Nwelue).

Read popular books – To Saint Patrick (Eghosa Imaseun), A Heart to Mend (Myne Whitman), I do not come to you by Chance (Adaobi Nwaubani) Eko Dialogue (Joy Bewaji), Fuelling the Delta Fires (Ayo Akinfe) .

Whatever your choice, read a lot. It is the best way to feed your mind.

Dates for Contest:

The contest opens July 5th and submissions end on July 16th.
First round Judging – July 16th – July 19th
Second round Judging and Voting – July 19th to July 29th 2010
The winner will be announced by August 1st.

Prizes :

There will be one (1) overall winner in this contest. The prize is $50 cash OR Two (2) Nigerian books* of their choice shipped to them wherever they are.
(*Costs including postage must not exceed $50).

For contestants resident in Nigeria there will be 30 consolation prizes;

Fifteen (10) contestants will pick up gift packs of Nigerian books from Farafina Books in Lagos.
Ten (10) contestants will get gift pack of books from Cassava Republic Press in Abuja.
Five (5) contestants will get three books each from Dada Books in Lagos
Five (5) contestants will each get one copy of A Heart to Mend by Myne Whitman in Abuja

Contest Guidelines:

1. Register at Naijastories.com and log in.

2. Make your submission as a post on the website with a title that defines your entry.

3. In the body of the post, provide the following;

a, the name of a Nigerian book that has touched you deeply,
b, the author’s name
c, a description of how the book has touched you. Perhaps this book has inspired you to change, to grow, to visit new places, to view life differently, or to just feel a lot of enjoyment for having read it. It can be any book, and we mean any book, even children’s books or non fiction – as long as it is by a Nigerian.
d, your real name and where you live (location).

4. Your entry should be a maximum of 250 words.

5. Put the entry in the category of “My Best Nigerian Book” and press the button, “Submit for Review”.

Contest Procedure:

To make it a fair and all inclusive contest, Naija Stories will have 3 stages for determining the winner;

Stage 1. – The Naija Stories team will select the most suitable of the entries.

Stage 2. – 3 Judges, one each from Farafina Books, Cassava Republic and Dada Books will score the selected entries. This will be added to votes polled via the ratings system on NaijaStories.com. At this stage, those who passed the first round can invite friends to rate their submissions. The top entries with the best ratings in combination with the judges scores will proceed to the last round.

Stage 3. – 1 Final Independent Judge will select the winner.

Judging Criteria:

- The first round judges will be checking for clean use of the English language so polish your grammar and keep typos to a minimum please! This is a contest for readers but most of us are writers too so treat it like a writing exercise. You do not know who is reading.

- Second round judges will be looking for creativity, so go on and give it your all. Be genuine! Be unique! Be original! Use this as an opportunity to acknowledge the book and the author for whom you feel a lot of affinity or gratitude.

- The final judge will be looking for genuine writing and heart-felt expressions of how the book has affected you and your life.

If you have any questions, please send a mail to info@naijastories.com.

Good Luck and Get Writing!

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A new feature of this website is the Naija Stories Store. Naija Stories is an Amazon Associate and will receive a small percentage of the purchase price. This will be used to support the site and contributing writers. The titles we have listed will remind you of the books you have forgotten or those you are yet to read. We encourage you to browse through the 40 selected books and click on the similar books links for so much more. Nigeria has talented writers and great books. Please support and encourage them by buying their books.

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Thank you.