Longlist for the 2026 Nigeria Prize for Literature Announced

By Nehru Odeh

The organisers of The Nigeria Prize for Literature have unveiled the longlist for the 2026 edition of the prestigious award, with 11 poetry collections selected to compete for the coveted $100,000 prize.

Sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), the Nigeria Prize for Literature is regarded as Africa’s richest literary prize and one of the most prestigious in the world. The award rotates annually among four genres—prose fiction, poetry, drama and children’s literature—with this year’s edition dedicated to poetry.

The 11 longlisted titles are Bakandamiya: An Elegy by Saddiq Dzukogi; Corpus: Animistic Verses by Ayo Oyeku; Adults Love in the Childhood Garden by Tanure Ojaide; 2000 Blacks by Ajibola Tolase; Unbind Me Now by James Ngwu Eze; Flora’s Love Colony by Tares Oburumu; The Years of Blood by Adedayo Agarau; Black Passport by Paul Akpomuje; Why Does God Need a Gun by Ogaga Ifowodo; The Nameless by Theresa Lola; and The Origin of Wounds by Rasaq Malik Gbolahan.

Announcing the longlist, the organisers said the selected collections “invite us to see familiar things differently,” adding that each work “arrives in a distinct voice, carrying the experiences, tensions and hopes that shaped it.”

The list features a blend of established literary figures and emerging voices, reflecting the vibrancy and diversity of contemporary Nigerian poetry. Veteran poets Tanure Ojaide and Ogaga Ifowodo are joined by acclaimed writers such as Saddiq Dzukogi, alongside younger poets including Ajibola Tolase, James Ngwu Eze, Adedayo Agarau, Theresa Lola and Tares Oburumu.

The longlist also marks the return of former finalists. In 2017, when the late Ikeogu Oke won the prize for The Heresiad, Ojaide and Ifowodo were finalists with Songs of Myself: Quartet and A Good Mourning, respectively.

Established in 2004 by NLNG, the Nigeria Prize for Literature was created to promote excellence in Nigerian literature and encourage writers whose works enrich the country’s literary heritage. Over the years, the award has become one of Africa’s most influential literary honours, bringing global attention to Nigerian writing.

The 2026 competition attracted a wide range of poetry submissions from across Nigeria and the diaspora. The longlisted collections explore themes including identity, migration, history, memory, love, violence, spirituality, belonging and the search for meaning, underscoring the continued evolution of Nigerian poetry.

The 11 books will now undergo further assessment by the panel of judges before a shortlist is announced. The eventual winner will receive the $100,000 prize at the Nigeria Prize for Literature award ceremony later this year.

For many readers and literary enthusiasts, the announcement signals the beginning of another closely watched season in Nigerian literature, as poets whose works give voice to personal and collective experiences compete for one of the continent’s most coveted literary honours.