The award offers participants an opportunity to explore Nigerian literature and compete for a shared cash prize of 100,000 NGN.
By Helena Olori
Book O’Clock has announced the inaugural Àtìpó Book Review Prize, a literary award that seeks to recognise young talents with excellent critical writing skills and encourage critical analysis of literary works.
The award, which derives its name from the Yoruba word Àtìpó, translated as “sojourner” or “visitors on earth,” is open specifically to young writers aged 22 and under, and will be awarded to the top two reviewers of Wole Olayinka’s Alejo: Crossing Times, an independently-published young adult novella featuring Yoruba mythology, fantasy, and time travel.
“With the Prize, we hope to award writers who convey this altruism/idea in their excellent critical writing and perhaps embody it spiritually,” the organisers stated in a press release.
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The Àtìpó Book Review Prize offers participants an opportunity to explore Nigerian literature and compete for a shared cash prize of 100,000 NGN to be awarded to the top two winners. The initiative aims to encourage young essayists, reviewers, and students of literary theory to delve into the richness and complexity of literary works from Nigeria. The first-place reviewer will be awarded 60,000 NGN, while the second-place reviewer will receive a reward of 40,000 NGN.
Submissions for the competition are currently ongoing and will run until August 11, 2023. Selected entries will be judged and winners will be announced on September 25, via Book O’Clock’s social media platforms.
Young writers, not more than age 22, are invited to submit reviews ranging from 400 to 600 words, formatted to font size 12, Times New Roman, and 1.5 spacing, to submittobookoclock@gmail.com before the August 11 deadline. The submission must be accompanied by scanned or photographed identification documents to verify age and Nigerian residency.
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To access the book for review, interested participants can obtain physical copies of the book, Alejo: Crossing Times for from Rovingheights or Book O’Clock’s Stores in Lagos and Sokoto, or access the eBook version on Kindle.
Book O’Clock, founded in 2020, is a nonprofit literary organisation that seeks to promote African literature by providing literary platforms for new voices to hone their skills, revive the reading culture, and engage contemporary issues through cultural and social events/projects.
Further information about the prize can be obtained here.