Following the announcement of a shortlist of 10 entries on the 26th of December, Poets in Nigeria is pleased to announce the winners of the 2020 edition of its annual Food Poetry Contest (PFPC). The winning entries which emerged from a pool of 149 valid entries include:
1st Prize: “GARRI: ’67-’70” by Ola W. Halim
2nd Prize: “OUR DREAMS HAVE COOKED TOO LONG” by Yusuff Uthman Adekola
3rd Prize: “THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO EASE A BOILING POT” by Roseline Mgbodichinma Anya Okorie
About the Prize Winners
Ola W. Halim lives and writes from Edo State, Nigeria. He teaches English Language and Literature. He was a finalist for the 2019 Teach for Change Teacher’s Prize in Literature. He also won the LitFest Prize for Prose (2020) for his short story, “Miracle”.
Yusuff Uthman Adekola is a (performance) poet who writes with the aim of contributing to societal good and, sometimes, to leave a trace of soul-lifting impacts on his audience.
Roseline Mgbodichinma Anya Okorie is a Nigerian poet, writer, and blogger. In 2018, she won the audience’s favourite award powered by Union Bank and Okadabooks for her short story, “Silence That Spoke”. Her poem, “The Giant”, was published in Nigerian Students Poetry Prize (NSPP) 2019 Anthology MICAH.
The three prize winners will be awarded N15,000, N10,000 and N5,000 respectively.
Poets in Nigeria will publish an anthology containing Top 54 selected entries of the 2020 PIN Food Poetry Contest.
Instituted in 2013 as Eriata Oribhabor Food Poetry Contest (EOFPC), the PIN Food Poetry Contest (PFPC) has produced four grand prize winners – Estrella Gada (2013), Mabel Okpaefi (2014), Adedayo Adeyemi Agarau (2015/2016) and Adeolu Titus Adekunle (2017). The 2018 edition of the contest produced 13 joint winners: Mbanefo Chibuike, Pamilerin Jacob, Odukoya Adeniyi, Ogedengbe Tolulope Impact, David Holper, Samuel Junior Irusota, Teslim Opemipo Omipidan, Oyekunle Ifeoluwa Peter, Aisagbonbu Success, Joseph Olamide Babalola, Oshafi Abdulrasak, Emmanuel Faith and Njoku Nonso.
Ebubechukwu Bruno Nwagbo
Moderator, PIN Food Poetry Contest 2020