A literary contest of fame, fortune opens


A new, innovative literary competition, Literary Star Search, has opened for Nigerian writers in the short story category. The star prize is ONE MILLION naira (N1m). The second and third placed writers win three and two hundred thousand naira (N300,000 & N200,000) respectively. The first 25 best stories will be published in a collection to be called Stories Nigeriana.

  Also, as part of promoting and rewarding the talent of Nigerian writers, suitable stories from the collection will be entered into such famous international competitions as the Caine and Commonwealth literary prizes at the expense of organisers, Creative Alliance. Moreso, a nationwide reading tour will be packaged to promote writers in the collection, with a view to assisting to publish works they already have.

  Organised by Creative Alliance, Literary Star Search is looking for the best short story writers with a view to nurturing, promoting and rewarding them handsomely in an explosive night of literary feast. The competition is also aimed at making real stars out of Nigerian writers that have long remained in the shadows of other stars in other less ennobling areas of the arts in spite of writers’ huge contributions to the nation and world culture.

  To apply, writers are to submit a short story on any subject of their choice not more than 3,500 words, with entry fee of three thousand naira (N3,000). They are to enclose a N3,000-worth of bank draft obtainable from any branch of Zenith International Bank Plc nationwide with their entry, and addressed to Creative Alliance. Entries are to be submitted either by hand to 1 Oladosu Street, Off Toyin Street, Ikeja, Lagos or mail (not e-mail) through courier service or any NIPOST office  across the nation to c/o PO Box 2442 Ikeja, Lagos.

  Deadline is March, 2012.

For further information or enquiries, writers are to visit: www.creativeallianceng.com; www.literarystarsearch.blogspot.com; www.creativealliance.blogspot.com.

  The Literary Star Search project is powered by Vonds Verticals and Housing Circuit.

Literary Star Search

(...enhancing the profile of emerging writers)

Coming your way soon is the biggest and best platform for writers to express themselves in bold narratives in an expanded frontier never before known in prose, drama and poetry.

This is borne out of the need to expand the literary space to accommodate everyone with a noble idea to share  with humanity.

But often, the chances and choices are few, indeed, too few, especially for writers to share from their ever-fertile imagination that is ready to extend the boundary of culture and society with a view to enriching them.

  Literary Star Search, as an affiliate company of Creative Alliance ®, is committed to broadening the literary landscape to accommodate more conversation with and interrogation of culture and society.

With values believed to be going down the spiral way, it’s only literature and the men and women that produce it that can halt the slide through reinventing social order by bringing the past to bear on the future in a seamless manner to preserve the health of humanity.

  So, out there are stars yet undiscovered, who, nonetheless, have so much to say to humanity to enoble society and culture. The rest of us dare not ignore them.

They need to be searched out, evaluated and rewarded, and their messages to society harnessed, like those gone before them – Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa’ Thiong’o, JP Clark, Buchi Emecheta, Flora Nwapa Sefi Atta, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Wale Okediran, Femi Osofisan, Ben Okri, Biyi Bandele, Helon Habila, Chika Unigwe, Gabriel Okara, and so on - to revitalise society and instil in it wholesome values to sustain it to the next generation and beyond.

  It is the belief of Literary Star Search that hidden stars abound in the literary landscape, but they remain hidden, unsung.

So that while stars are being made and hugely rewarded in virtually other areas like beauty pageant, music, movies, dance, writers are largely left out in the cold, and left to watch from the sidelines.

Yet, writing is one area where worldbeaters have been made in our midst, men and women, who have put us on the world map as part of the world’s cultural citizens.

MANTRA OF A PRIZE…

While there is abundance of potential star writers, there is little opportunity for them to rise and shine! Reward for them is still criminally low; they are just too few prizes on the local scene for those with something important to say.

Inability to throw up star writers and truly celebrate them has created an absence of writers as models for society, especially for the young, impressionable members of society.

This has the multiplier effect of alienating young ones from reading what writers produce as a disconnect between the two has become so obvious. So, how can young ones be inspired to emulate writers when writers appear to be the dregs of society as under-achievers?

The connection between writers and literacy cannot be hard to imagine either; that there is a lack of a reading habit in the populace, therefore, becomes logical in the sense that writers have not been made a central part of our collective consciousness.

To address these issues, icons in the field of literary creativity have to be made. Yes, young icons just like the way it is in music, movies, dance, pageants and other competitive areas of our social life.

These icons will lure young readers back to the literary space and books when they see in the icons that are made a mirror of themselves, indeed, stars to fire their aspirations to nbler visins; people they can only dream to be like.

This is what Literary Star Search aims to do in the days ahead…