We are grateful for all the entrants to this competition. Entries were received from three countries, Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana in this inaugural edition of the prize. Entries were judged blind, with the final selection of the short-list made by Unoma Azuah, the competition judge, whose letter follows the list of winners. Winning entries will feature each for a week in the next thirteen weeks in this blog and elsewhere. We look forward to the next competition!
LIST OF WINNERS:
First Prize (15, 000 Naira or 96 USD): Chioma Iwunze (Enugu, Nigeria) for Search for my Father.
Second Prize (10, 000 Naira or 64 USD): Desiree Eniola Craig (Lagos, Nigeria) for A Year in Paradise.
Third Prize (5, 000 Naira or 32 USD): Yeku Babatude James (Ibadan, Nigeria) for Mama.
The winners will also receive a copy of the book (WOMAN OF VIRTUE BOOK OF FAME, Containing FAR ABOVE RUBIES: The Biography of Mrs. Cecilia Unaegbu, biographies of extraordinary women, five stories from guest authors and a collection of all submitted Cecilia Unaegbu Prize stories) due out by December.
The consolation Prizes (Which is the published book) due out by December go to:
Essien, Enobong Queen (Lagos, Nigeria)
Prosper Obum Anuforoh (Lagos, Nigeria)
Nnaji Chukwudi (Edo, Nigeria)
Karen Jennings (Cape Town, South Africa)
Augustine Ogwo (Lagos, Nigeria)
Annette Najjemba (Hoima, Uganda)
Akinde Hafiz Akinyemi (Kwara, Nigeria)
Muhammed Abdullahi Tosin (Lagos, Nigeria)
Oluwakemi Osoko (Lagos, Nigeria)
Attah Damian Uzochukwu Victor (Nsukka, Nigeria)
A comment from the competition judge, Unoma Azuah,
"A good number of the stories lack the basic structure and content that a Flash story should have. It would have been helpful for the entrants to have researched the basic forms/features of Flash stories. Beyond the fact that the number of words are limited, there is also a need in this type of genre to apply a sense of urgency. For example,
the first person point of view, which is "I" gives a better sense of urgency compared to the use of a third person point of view, which is "She/He or They." Additionally, some entries are essays rather than stories. There are as well issues of grammar and poor sentence structure. Further, some of the stories drift towards "moralizing." Instead of letting the story tell itself, some writers use this as a tool of propaganda or as a judgmental weapon. In my opinion, when one writes a flash fiction, it is best to avoid employing the "intrusive voice," because the idea is for one to present the story the way it is witnessed. In all, the good stories are very good and the poorly written ones do not entirely lack merit. They either have good themes or good openings. The wide disparity between the very good stories and the poorly written ones is, perhaps, a reflection of the wide pool of entrants this contest attracted, which is perfect. The other thing the Cecilia Unegbu Prize may consider is to conduct workshops on Flash stories, or even Fiction to enable aspiring writers arm themselves with the basic mechanism of writing any of these genres. Some of the submitted stories indicate that a good number of entrants have no clue as to what is required in a Flash story. This process/event in itself is a wonderful development in Nigerian Literature because it will nudge the amateur writer to the right place, while guiding and encouraging raw talent to be horned.
Well done!
Unoma
www.unomaazuah.com"
the first person point of view, which is "I" gives a better sense of urgency compared to the use of a third person point of view, which is "She/He or They." Additionally, some entries are essays rather than stories. There are as well issues of grammar and poor sentence structure. Further, some of the stories drift towards "moralizing." Instead of letting the story tell itself, some writers use this as a tool of propaganda or as a judgmental weapon. In my opinion, when one writes a flash fiction, it is best to avoid employing the "intrusive voice," because the idea is for one to present the story the way it is witnessed. In all, the good stories are very good and the poorly written ones do not entirely lack merit. They either have good themes or good openings. The wide disparity between the very good stories and the poorly written ones is, perhaps, a reflection of the wide pool of entrants this contest attracted, which is perfect. The other thing the Cecilia Unegbu Prize may consider is to conduct workshops on Flash stories, or even Fiction to enable aspiring writers arm themselves with the basic mechanism of writing any of these genres. Some of the submitted stories indicate that a good number of entrants have no clue as to what is required in a Flash story. This process/event in itself is a wonderful development in Nigerian Literature because it will nudge the amateur writer to the right place, while guiding and encouraging raw talent to be horned.
Well done!
Unoma
www.unomaazuah.com"
As an undergraduate at Nsukka, Unoma edited the English department literary journal —The Muse and received the awards of the best Creative Writing student for two consecutive years: 1992 and 1993. Her other awards include the Hellman/Hammett Human Rights grant for her writings on women’s issues (1998), and the Leonard Trawick Creative Writing Award (2000), the Urban Spectrum award, the Leonard Trawick award and the Association of Nigerian Authors/NDDC Flora Nwapa award for her debut novel Sky-high Flames. She also has a collection of short stories, The Length of Light and a book of poetry, Night Songs. Prof. Unoma Azuah also holds an MFA in Poetry and Fiction from the Virginia Commonwealth University. She currently teaches Composition and Creative Writing at Lane College, Jackson, Tennessee, USA.
As this year's judge, she has automatically won the WOMAN OF VIRTUE 2011 award from the Cecilia Unaegbu Prize Project powered by Revolutionary Images and Biographical Link.
As this year's judge, she has automatically won the WOMAN OF VIRTUE 2011 award from the Cecilia Unaegbu Prize Project powered by Revolutionary Images and Biographical Link.
The stories will be posted each every week for the next 13 weeks in this blog.
Well done Jeff and Unoma, and congrats to the winners.
ReplyDeleteThanks Myne!
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