The TY Buratai Literary Initiative (TYBLI) has announced the six zonal winners for the 2025 edition of its Young Adult Literature Prize, selected from 106 entries received across Nigeria.
The six regional winners and their stories are:
- Adoo Gyuur (‘Daughters of Ashes’, North Central)
- Daniel Yohanna (‘A Boy From Far North’, North East)
- E.R. Umukoro (‘The Distortion of Hardassah’, South South)
- Ikemefuna Chinenyike Lawrence Ezemagu (‘Garden of Garget’, South East)
- Sarah Yousuph (‘When the Road Curves’, South West)
- Yusrah Bashir Gaga (‘My Darkest Nightmares’, North West)
Founded by Lt. General T.Y. Buratai (Rtd.), the TY Buratai Literary Initiative is a non-profit project with the mission of promoting literacy, fostering a culture of reading, and supporting young writers, particularly in the genre of Young Adult Literature (YAL). The initiative also runs an outreach known as the Book Placement Program, which provides mini-libraries called “book boxes” to underserved schools.
The annual Young Adult Literature Prize (YALP) is TYBLI’s flagship contest aimed at discovering and rewarding emerging writers in the youth genre. Its maiden 2024 edition saw Taofeek Olatunbosun win the grand prize of ₦1 million for ‘Truth and Dare.’
For 2025, TYBLI increased the grand prize to ₦1.5 million, while each zonal winner will receive ₦500,000. The Initiative also extended its book placement drive in 2025, donating mobile libraries containing at least 40 books to schools in Kaduna, Abuja, and Nasarawa, including Girau International School and the School of the Gifted, Gwagwalada.
A shortlist of three finalists will be released later in October ahead of the Grand Prize and Awards Ceremony on November 1, 2025.
For more information on the initiative and the competition, click here.
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
