The Committee for Relevant Art (CORA) in collaboration with the Nigeria Prize
for Literature, sponsored by the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG), is set to celebrate winners of the prize through the years in a special edition of the annual CORA-NPL Book Party.
According to a statement by CORA’s Programme Chair, Jahman Anikulapo, the theme for the auspicious event taking place virtually via Zoom on Thursday, October 8, is “All Laureates’ Feast”
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“As the cultural events season opens up following the series of lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, the absence of the Nigeria Prize for Literature has become a recurrent subject of debate in the literary circuit. In particular, the CORA-NPL Book Party, which has always been the kick-starter for the literary season, has been subject of inquiry lately. It usually set the template and the pace for literary events that characterise the season – August to December,” said the statement explaining the reason for this year’s edition.
CORA, in discussion with NLNG, therefore resolved that staging a virtual
edition of the CORA-NPL Book Party, is imperative.
“It is conceived as a special gift to Nigeria in a season that marks the country’s diamond (60th) anniversary. The NPL is one of the very few key accomplishments of the country in the annals of cultural development”.
The 2020 Book Party will host all the past winners of the Nigeria Prize for Literature to a 2-hour session of discussions around their career and their work that fetched them the NPL prize. It will also be an occasion to look into the state of Nigerian literature, especially in the four genres that feature in the NPL.
The Party will thus bring together all the past winners of the NPL, who are currently located in different parts of the world.
From record, there have been 14 winners since the beginning of the project.
Three of them have passed on, leaving 11. These 11 laureates will be hosted at the
2020 Book Party.
Aside the obvious advantage of the Party to the corporate brand of the NPL, the
CORA said it believes that it also has its merits to the writing career and brand equity of
each of the laureates. Hence, it will provide opportunity for the media and the public to have update information about these past winners who are currently located in different parts of the world and also enable the NPL Secretariat to bring its past laureates into one family; and keep them in close network.
While CORA said it believes that each of the winners of the past editions remains a veritable ambassador for the NPL, which remains the biggest prize project on the continent of
Africa it added that these winners constitute an eminent body of leaders of thought in our contemporary literary discourse, and ecosystem.
The Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by NLNG, is aimed at bringing Nigerian authors to public attention and celebrating literary craftsmanship in the nation. The Nigeria Prize for Literature is one of the 10 richest and most prestigious
literary prizes in the world. The Prizes are administered, on behalf of Nigeria
LNG Limited, by the Advisory Board for Literature made up of reputable and
distinguished Nigerians. The prize comes with a cash reward of $100,000.
CORA is a 29-year-old organisation created and managed by dedicated culture enthusiasts with the intent of making Nigeria a prime destination for culture tourism. CORA
was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria as a charity in 2007 as
the CORA Art & Cultural Foundation. In 2006, the organization received the Prince
Claus Award for Culture & Development and has been instrumental to major policy
shifts in the creative industries. CORA organises regular art events and symposia. These
events constantly draw attendance from the cream of Nigeria’s art enthusiasts, practitioners and patrons and are regularly reported in the press. Ideas shared at CORA organised forums have influenced major interventions in the literary, filmic, musical, visual and performative arts of Nigeria in the past two decades and more.