By Bisi Bamishe
NLNG in partnership with The Committee for Relevant Art (CORA) hosted the first eleven poets longlisted for the 2026 edition of The Nigeria Prize for Literature at the annual CORA Book Party in Lagos.
The Book Party, which followed the announement of the 2026 longlist, provided a public platform for the selected poets to present their works, read selected pieces, and engage with readers, critics, journalists, publishers, students, and other members of the literary community. It featured readings, conversations, and discussions around the works selected for the year’s poetry cycle among other cultural and literary festivities.
The longlisted works were selected by the panel of judges appointed for the 2026 edition of the Prize from 223 entries received, following the call for entries announced in February and the close of submissions for the poetry cycle. The longlist marks a key stage in the adjudication process, ahead of the shortlist and the possible announcement of the winner later in the year.
Speaking at the event, NLNG’s General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Sophia Horsfall, said the Book Party emphasised the importance of sustaining platforms that move literature beyond the page and into public consciousness.
She noted that The Nigeria Prize for Literature was established to recognise exceptional writing, and to strengthen Nigeria’s culture of reading, critical engagement and creative expression. This year’s focus on poetry, she added, celebrates a genre capable of distilling complex truths into powerful language, connecting the personal with the universal and giving voice to experiences that might otherwise remain unheard.
“The 2026 Poetry cycle attracted 223 entries, each offering a distinct rhythm, perspective and artistic expression. Together, these submissions attest to the vitality of Nigerian poetry and to the confidence Nigerian writers continue to place in the NLNG-sponsored Nigeria Prize for Literature,” she said.
Also speaking, CORA Secretary-General, Mr. Toyin Akinosho, said the Book Party was designed to create exactly this kind of public literary encounter, where books are not merely announced, but read, discussed, challenged, and appreciated. He stated that the Book Party remains an intervention in Nigeria’s literary space because it gives visibility to authors and encourages direct engagement between writers and readers.
Mr TAkinosho, described the Book Party as a distinctive platform that brings authors into direct conversation with the reading public ahead of the final announcement of the winner of The Nigeria Prize for Literature.
He acknowledged NLNG’s sustained investment in the country’s literary and reading culture.
“We are here because a profitable Nigerian gas company decided that a way to spend some share of its profit is to enable the Nigerian reading space. I’d like to thank NLNG for continuing to support this yearly afternoon of book conversation and the celebration of this country’s finest authors.”
Concluding his remarks, Akinosho emphasised the distinctive place of the CORA–NPL Book Party in the literary prize process. He said: “I don’t know of any literary prize process in which the final award is prefaced by a celebratory event of this nature, at which the authors face a community of readers in a room and talk about why and how they wrote what they are offering.”
Now in its 22nd year, The Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by NLNG, rotates annually among four genres: Prose Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Children’s Literature. The 2026 edition is dedicated to Poetry, with the winner expected to be announced in October. The CORA Book Party forms part of the activities leading to the final announcement, providing a public platform for engagement with the longlisted works and their authors.
