The Nigeria Prize for Literature rotates across four literary genres: prose fiction, poetry, drama, and children’s literature.
By Abioye Damilare Samson
The Nigeria Prize for Literature and the Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts are currently open for submissions for the 2026 edition, with submission deadlines set for March 31 and April 2026, respectively.
The prestigious prizes, funded and administered by Nigeria LNG’s External Relations Division, represent one of the most significant investments in Nigerian creative excellence currently on offer. Together, they carry a combined prize pool of $120,000, with the Literature prize offering $100,000 and the Creative Arts prize offering $20,000.
The Nigeria Prize for Literature rotates across four literary genres: prose fiction, poetry, drama, and children’s literature. This year’s focus is poetry, and the prize winner will receive $100,000 for creative excellence. The newly launched Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts, in its inaugural edition, focuses on documentary filmmaking, with this year’s theme being Identity, an invitation to explore, through documentary film, who we are as individuals, communities, and cultures, and how our identities shape our understanding of the world.
Eligibility for the Literature prize is open to Nigerian writers, regardless of where they live, provided their poetry collection was published no earlier than 2023. Twelve physical copies of the entry, an e-copy, and proof of Nigerian citizenship must be submitted alongside a completed application form.
The Creative Arts prize is open to Nigerian filmmakers aged 18 to 35, wherever they reside. Eligible films must be short non-fiction documentaries of no more than 20 minutes, completed between April 2024 and April 2026. The prize seeks character-driven work, documentaries anchored in individuals, communities, or ideas whose journeys create a genuine emotional connection with the audience. AI-generated imagery or music will not be accepted.
Submissions for the Literature prize can be sent to NLNG’s offices in Port Harcourt, Lagos, or London, with a deadline of March 31, 2026, at 23:59 WAT. Creative Arts submissions must be accompanied by a Short Artistic Statement of no more than 250 words, with entries closing in April 2026. There are no entry fees for either prize.
Eligible poets and documentary filmmakers can submit their entries here.