The program Director of Abuja Literary Society, Dike Chukwumereje, has said poetry and short story competitions will boost creativity and discipline amongst the upcoming writers.
Chukwumereje said this at the Abuja Literary and Arts Festival (ALITFEST), short competition award and presentation of gifts to the overall winner of the Alit-Fest2022, on Friday.
He said the competition would give them opportunities and also boost their morale to write more, “so that we can produce the next generation of Chimamanda”.
According to him, the Abuja literary society and in extension the Abuja literary and Arts Festival, aims to create an opportunity whereby people can understand creativity, writing, reading culture, and it would help them grow and at the same time learn new things.
Judges for Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2023 announced
General hospitals: Patients grumble over dilapidated structures, manpower shortage
“This short story competition, helps to make people understand other people’s culture and it is not even just about reading, you can improve your creativity by going a step further, we like to encourage younger generation to do more in that regards,” he said.
While congratulating the winners, the Head of partnership ALITFEST planning committee, Alheri Deedee Osinuga, noted that writers can never reach their peak as there is always room to keep getting better.
She said, “I would like to encourage all the winners and those who sent in their articles and those who didn’t make it to the final, should not be discouraged. An article that was disqualified from this competition can make it to the finals in other contests.
“I would like to encourage all the people who sent in entries that they should not relent, they should continue to develop their creativity process and they should go back and write new things. They should go back and look into the old work they’ve done and make it better.”
Precious Chukson, who is the overall winner, titled her story ‘Blow of the Plague’, said, “I am very excited and I think everybody could use validation at some point in their lives and this is certainly one form of validation in my creative work.
“This is not just a win for me to sit with and enjoy. I mean, this is a push. This is a show and this is an encouragement for me to do more. It is a validation. It is an affirmation that says my voice is relevant in the literary world, and my work is relevant and his is something that inspires me that encourages me to do more.”
An official of the Abuja ALITFEST, Halimatu Sadiya, said the event is an annual gathering that celebrates literary and creative talents of Nigerians and Africans as a whole.
“Our festival aims to promote literature and explore the interconnections between literature and art, theater, films, music, poetry, and culture. We also aim to aid, support, promote, and encourage projects or programs concerned with or dealing with literature and the arts in Nigeria and Africa.
“Last year, as part of the festival, we had a short story competition and this event was to award the top three winners,” she said.
