Nigerian poet, Saddiq Dzukogi has been announced as a winner of the 16th Narrative Magazine Annual Poetry Contest for his piece, “Egress”.
Clinching the first spot in the contest, he is joined by two fellow African poets; Adedayo Agarau and Brian Gyamfi whose works earned them a spot as finalists in the contest for their works, “Self-Portrait in a Dream and Other Poems” and “The Fall and The Strange Tree” respectively. These poets continue to make significant contributions to African literature, gaining recognition on a global platform through their pieces.
Narrative Magazine, founded in 2003 by Tom Jenks and Carol Edgarian, is a non-profit digital publisher of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and art. Throughout the year, Narrative awards various prizes to writers. Its most notable recognition, the Narrative Prize, is an annual $5,000 award given to a new or emerging writer published in the magazine. Past winners of the Narrative Prize include Sarah Balakrishnan (2022), Morgan Talty (2021), Tryphena L. Yeboah (2021), and Gbenga Adesina (2020), among others.
In addition to the Narrative Prize, the magazine offers several other contests such as the Narrative Spring, Fall, and Winter Fiction and Nonfiction Contests, and the Annual Narrative Poetry Contest, all of which include monetary awards.
Narrative has featured contributions from prominent writers such as Chris Abani, Sharon Olds, Jennifer Egan, and Jericho Brown. Many Narrative contributors have gone on to win prestigious awards, including the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, and National Book Award. Their work has also appeared in collections like The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Nonrequired Reading.
Saddiq Dzukogi, born in Minna, Nigeria, is a poet and assistant professor in the Department of English at Mississippi State University. He is the author of the acclaimed poetry collection Your Crib, My Qibla, which won the 2022 Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry and the 2021 Julie Suk Award as a co-winner. The collection was also shortlisted for the prestigious $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature, further cementing Dzukogi’s reputation as a leading voice in contemporary poetry.
Congratulations, Dzukogi!
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
