OPEN TO anyone anywhere in the world.

PRIZE: ₦1,000,000 [One Million Naira] for one winner + publication + have work as part of an exhibition in England.

DEADLINE: 22nd September 2024 11:59pm WAT

The Eugenia Abu/SEVHAGE Creative Non-Fiction Prize looks to encourage exploration into the non-fiction genre among writers, while celebrating the legacy of Mrs Eugenia Abu, one of Nigeria’s cherished broadcast journalists and writers. It is funded and administered by SEVHAGE and the ALINEA Initiative, with support from Dr Victor Oladokun, (Senior Advisor to the President for Communication and Stakeholder Engagement, African Development Bank Group), Dapo Olorunyomi (Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Premium Times, a Nigerian online newspaper) and some anonymous patrons.
Like the ALINEA Prize, a sister prize, this prize looks “for work that reaches beyond truth. We want to hear what you have to say in the best way you can say it.”
The Prize is a key component of the SEVHAGE Literary Prizes 2024, which also includes categories for Fiction and Critical Essays. Professor Hyginus Ekwuazi, multiple award-winning multi-genre writer, scholar, Professor of Broadcast Media and former Vice Chancellor of the Dominican University Ibadan, will serve as the Chief Judge for this year’s prizes, ensuring the selection of the highest-quality entries. The competition is open to writers globally and is free to enter. The winner will receive a prize of ₦1,000,000 [One Million Naira] and have their work published, with additional opportunities for other shortlisted entries. Furthermore, portions of their work will be featured in an exhibition in Nottingham, England, as part of the SEVHAGE Festival.

How to Apply and Other Information

• Submissions will only be accepted by submitting through the following link: SUBMIT.
• Entrants can submit only one original and unpublished creative non-fiction piece.
• The work should not have been under consideration for publication during the process of judging.
• CNF here refers to factual stories or writeups that are well written. As Sean Glatch notes, creative nonfiction (CNF) is a form of storytelling that employs the creative writing techniques of literature, such as poetry and fiction, to retell a true story. Creative nonfiction writers don’t just share pithy anecdotes, they use craft and technique to situate the reader into their own personal lives.
• The CNF piece can be on any theme but well-written and engaging. 
• The minimum word count is 500 words while the maximum is 2000 words. 
• PLEASE DO NOT SEND TEXT BOOKS, POEMS OR FICTION.
• All entries should be sent in a single Microsoft Word document. (format: Times New Roman font, single line spacing, font 12).
• Do not include your name in the attached document. Any entry that violates this guideline will be automatically disqualified.
• You can only make one entry, which cannot be resubmitted or changed. So, make all changes before you submit. Be sure before you submit.
• Shortlisted writers might be required to produce evidence of country of origin.
• The judges’ decisions are final and not open to debate.
• Shortlisted writers will be contacted by October.
• We will be publishing the shortlisted entries for this competition before the announcement of the award. Therefore, only those who are okay with having their works published should enter for the award.
• Winners will be announced latest December 2024.
• Submissions will only be accepted by submitting through the following link: SUBMIT.

The prize money is ₦1,000,000 plus publication. All shortlisted authors agree to have their work published in an anthology to be published by SEVHAGE. 

[Where the selected winner cannot have their prize money paid to them through a Nigerian account, PayPal or Lemonade would be the only other option available.]

The Eugenia Abu/SEVHAGE Prize for Creative Non-Fiction is majorly courtesy of an endowment by SEVHAGE and The Alinea Initiative. It is administered by SEVHAGE Literary and Development Initiative and SEVHAGE Publishers.

ABOUT EUGENIA ABU

Eugenia Abu is one of Nigeria’s most loved and frontline broadcast journalists who has won several awards including the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award for Best Newscaster of the Year in 1995. She is easily one of Nigeria’s most recognizable faces and anchored the National Television News for seventeen years. Eugenia rose to the top of her career at the Nigerian Television Authority becoming Executive Director (Programmes) and retired after thirty-four years of meritorious service.
She started writing at 7 and has grown to master her craft across genres including poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction and screenplays. She is the author of two books, In the Blink of an Eye (a collection of essays), and Don’t Look at Me Like That (a poetry collection). Eugenia maintains weekly columns in two national newspapers BusinessDay and Sunday Trust. In 2008, Eugenia was invited by Nigerians in Western Australia to deliver that year’s Independence Anniversary lecture and was voted Nigeria’s Most Inspiring Woman in 2013 in an online survey conducted by the fabric manufacturer, VLISCO. She won the Association of Nigerian Authors/NDDC Flora Nwapa Prize for Best Female Writing in 2008 and continues to win hearts with her amazing work and amiable personality.
Eugenia is a 1981 graduate of English from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and has a Master’s in Communication Policy Studies from the City University London in 1991, graduating with distinction. She also holds a Master’s in Creative Writing from Keele University, Staffordshire, United Kingdom. She has certificates in Educational Psychology, Guidance and Counselling and TV presentation.
An alumna of the Chevening Scholarship and a USIS fellow, Eugenia Abu is currently the CEO and Managing Partner of her eponymous brand, The Eugenia Abu Media (TEAM). TEAM’s Media Centre has successfully conducted a series of masterclasses on public speaking, customer service, broadcasting, report and proposal writing, leadership, and creative writing. These masterclasses address identified gaps in these areas and are aimed at top-level executives and management staff. Held at the Bon Hotel Abuja, the sessions provide the perfect ambience and feature some of the best resource persons in their fields, including Mrs. Abu herself. In 2018, she established the Eugenia Abu Media Centre, a reading and mentorship hub for young Nigerian creatives, through which she has trained well over 400 youths.
In a similar vein and in the mould of her belief in mentorship as the unexplored key to fast-tracking human development on the African continent, Eugenia founded The Treasured Writers (TTW) in 2007. TTW, one of Abuja’s premier annual summer creative writing boot camps, is designed for children aged 7-14. Mrs. Abu, along with other engaging facilitators and guests including award-winning authors, artists, actors and entertainers, dedicate a week to helping the children enhance their writing and creative skills.
Eugenia has attended several international conferences across the world and has served on several national and International bodies including the National Human Rights Commission, the Lagos State Innovative Council, ThisDay Editorial Board and Nigeria’s Vision 2020 technical committee on the Media. She recently joined the board of Savannah Centre for Democracy, Development and Democracy.
Eugenia has consulted for organizations such as the International Labour Organization, the United Nations, and Justice for All, among others. She is a Faculty Member at the Africa Center for Leadership, Strategy, and Development (Centre LSD) and a visiting consultant at Bingham University, where she teaches international broadcasting and specialized reporting. Additionally, she consults for the National Democratic Institute on women and the media, for ECOWAS on media and peacebuilding during elections, and for the NeXT CEO Summit in Mauritius. Eugenia is also a judge for the National Maltina Teacher’s Award.
Throughout her distinguished career, Eugenia has interviewed prominent figures, including Presidents and Nobel laureates. Her portfolio features interviews with President Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, President Obasanjo, President Yoweri Museveni, Professor Wole Soyinka, and Nadine Gordimer, among many others.
Mrs. Abu has established herself as a highly sought-after national and international compere and moderator. She served as the Master of Ceremony for the inaugurations of Presidents Yar’adua and Jonathan and was the national compere for President Muhammadu Buhari’s inauguration dinner in 2019. She was also the national compere for the Presidential inaugural ball for President Tinubu.
She lives in Abuja with her family.

(Written by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema with additional materials from https://wiscar.ng/eugenia-abu/)