Familoni Oluranti Olubunmi will be awarded a cash prize of $100,000.
By Hope Ibiale
Nigerian writer, Familoni Oluranti Olubunmi, has emerged as the winner of the 2024 Nigeria Prize for Literature with his work, The Road Does Not End.
The book bested the two other shortlisted works – A Father’s Pride by Ndidi Chiazor-Enenmo and Wish Maker by Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike to clinch this year’s award cycle dedicated to the literary works of the children’s literature genre.
While receiving the prize at the award ceremony, Olubunmi said, “The books my mom bought me as a child brought me to where I am today”. He will be awarded a cash prize of $100,000.
The Nigeria Prize for Literature is a Nigerian literary award created in 2004. The purpose of the prize is to spotlight the work of writers and to celebrate them. The award rotates among four genres: fiction, poetry, drama, and children’s literature, every four years.
The genre under review this year is children’s literature. The panel of judges for this year’s prize includes Professor Saleh Abdu, Professor Vicky Sylvester, and Dr. Igudia Osarobu.
With a total prize value of $100,000 for individual winners, it is the biggest literary award in Africa, and one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world.