It is golden hour and the sun is bathing the entire garden in an iridescent shimmer. A banner bearing the words ‘The 2024 Abebi Award in AfroNonfiction’ sits gallantly at the front of the garden peppered with golden chairs, filled with those who love the arts. They are gathered there, on that warm evening of […]
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It is golden hour and the sun is bathing the entire garden in an iridescent shimmer. A banner bearing the words ‘The 2024 Abebi Award in AfroNonfiction’ sits gallantly at the front of the garden peppered with golden chairs, filled with those who love the arts. They are gathered there, on that warm evening of Saturday the 11th of January 2025 to celebrate the winning cohort of the 2024 Abebi Award, established by the Abebi AfroNonfiction Institute. The Abebi Award was established in 2023 to highlight, honor, and celebrate Nigerian women writing creative nonfiction (i.e. stories fashioned after real life experiences). The Institute and its efforts, chief of them The Abebi Award, exist to shine a light on the revolutionary power of personal narrative as a source of healing, expression and community building for women.
After the resounding success of the Inaugural edition in 2023, it is impressive to witness that in the second year of its existence, The Award received nearly three times the amount of submissions from its inaugural year, proving that there is indeed a demand and a hunger for the growth and development of this precious genre in Nigeria. Receiving entries from every geopolitical zone, and from diverse age ranges, The Institute remains firmly committed to the truth that there are stories woven into the fabrics of our voices as women in this country, and The Abebi AfroNonfiction Institute will continue to strive to give these stories a place of pride and prominence in this world.
The essays this year marvel with their closeness to self, the power of language and the force of our collective humanity. As you dive into the essays you enter into worlds of tenderness and truth, of grandmothers battling dementia with the power of photography and love, of young girls in secondary school conflating perfection with beauty and the unraveling of such erroneous conjecture in the gentle fierceness of womanhood. In Ibadan, underneath ancient trees, a young woman balances the tensions of romance amidst the demands of religion and culture. We travel to Ghana and Kaduna, learning how place and class shape the entire consciousness of a childhood. We are inside a molue in Lagos, contemplating the meaning of home, and the loss, and discovery of it, again and again. The Founder, Mofiyinfoluwa O. remarked that;
“In all of these essays, I remain moved by the authenticity of these writers and their willingness to confront the inner realities that constitute their lives. It is exactly the kind of work the Institute seeks to highlight and honor.”
She went on to highlight that three of the five writers in the winning cohort are alumni of The Place and Emotion Masterclass held by the Institute in August of 2024. This progression proves that The Institute is indeed achieving its goals of equipping and educating Nigerian women writing creative nonfiction today. In the spirit of this goal, she proudly informed us that this year, all the applicants whose work was not selected for publication by the panel of judges received a creative writing workbook curated by herself and Ucheoma Onwutuebe, because they care about the development of every single person that submitted a work of writing to them.
All the winning writers received cash prizes but more than the money, all writers were invited to an all expense paid residency where the Founder facilitated engaging workshops, and mind-mapping masterclasses and created a heart-warming avenue for the writers to bond and create new work. Of the residency provided by The Institute, the winning writer, Mariam Tijani wrote;
‘”If I had to sum up my experience of the residence in one word, it would be “intentionality”. Every detail, no matter how small, proves how much mindfulness was put into creating the residence and providing a supportive environment for thoughtful reflection and growth. I loved listening to the brilliant facilitator, and I am deeply inspired by the resilience of the women and the stories shared. My time in the Abebi residency has truly been a transformative journey, and I’m excited to emerge as a more polished, passionate, and powerful writer.”
The 2024 Abebi Award in AfroNonfiction was generously sponsored by well-wishers of literature and art in the country. We look forward to an even greater event in the coming years. Here is to celebrating powerful women, telling powerful stories.
Read the stories from the award-winning writers here.
