The SEVHAGE Literary Prizes are a group of annual literary and art prizes organized by SEVHAGE Literary and Development Initiative and SEVHAGE Publishers (a subset of SEVHAGE Integrated Services Ltd) in collaboration with various partners, open to Africans globally. Initiated in 2019, the Prizes aim to recognise and celebrate the outstanding contributions of African creatives across various categories including poetry, prose, spoken word, drama, dancing, and general writing. The Prizes succeed various other awards established and independently administered and funded by SEVHAGE on an annual basis since 2013.
Past winners and runners-up of the prizes have included [POETRY] Chinua Ezenwa-Ohaeto, Adedayo Agarau, Pamilerin Jacob; Adenle Iyanuoluwa Deborah, Osi Stanley Chijioke; [SPOKEN WORD] Abbas Suleiman, Hafsat Abdullahi, Younglan Talyoung, and Elizabeth KJ Umoru; [PROSE] Ebuka Prince Okoroafor, Hajaarh Muhammad Bashar, and Olaposi Washington Halim; [CREATIVE NON-FICTION) Odueso Oluwatimilehin Charles, David Iruoje, Samuel Amazing Ayoade, and Nguher Terungwa James.
The 2023 main winners are Arasi Kamolideen Oluwapelumi (E. E. Sule/SEVHAGE Prize for African Criticism); Amanda Ilozumba and Ola W. Halim (SEVHAGE/Leticia Nyitse Prize for Short Fiction); Abasi-maenyin Esebre (SEVHAGE/Maria Ajima Prize for Creative Non-Fiction); and Sodiq Oyekanmi (SEVHAGE-KSR Hyginus Ekwuazi Poetry Prize). For a full list of the 2023 Winners, please CLICK HERE.

To read our 2023 report with a list of our past winners since 2019, please SPECIFIC REPORT ON SEVHAGE PRIZES 2024. 

THE SEVHAGE PRIZES 2024

• The E. E. Sule/SEVHAGE Prize for African Literary Criticism
• The K & L Prize for Fiction

THE K & L PRIZE FOR FICTION (Worth N600,000.00) [Deadline: 21st July 2024]

With a star prize of Five Hundred Thousand Naira and twenty thousand naira for shortlisted entries, this SEVHAGE Short Fiction Prize is for a work of short fiction (800-2000 words) that focus on mental health and reduce stigma while encouraging positive stories to promote well-being. For guidelines on this prize, please click on this link or APPLY DIRECTLY BY CLICKING HERE. This prize money is majorly in part, courtesy of an endowment by Dr Myles Idoko Ojabo.

The E. E. SULE/SEVHAGE PRIZE FOR AFRICAN LITERARY CRITICISM (N285,000) [Deadline: 21st July 2024]: 
This award for critical writing (4,500 to 6,000 words) is named in honour of Nigeria’s prominent scholar and literary critic, Professor Sule Emmanuel Egya (a.k.a E. E. Sule), an outstanding writer, whose lifelong works in criticism are visionary and inspiring. Started in 2023, the prize is originally pegged at a hundred thousand naira with the prize money and administration cost fully funded by the SEVHAGE team. However, as a swift response to recent criticism of the prize money, the money was adjusted to N285,000 in June 2024 due to a donation from a partner and support from the SEVHAGE team. For guidelines on entry for this prize, please visit this link or APPLY DIRECTLY BY CLICKING HERE.