South Sudanese writer Arthur Gabriel Yak has emerged the winner of this year’s Quramo Writers Prize. Yak’s manuscript, “Whispers of Survival,” earned him a prize of N1 million and a publishing contract, marking a significant milestone in his emerging career.
The winning piece, praised by jury head Dr. Eghosa Imasuen, offers a poignant exploration of life in a refugee camp through the eyes of a young girl named Anyang. Imasuen highlighted the manuscript’s “emotional complexity and narrative strength” in portraying themes of survival and human dignity amidst conflict.
The judging panel, which included literary scholar Mrs. Lechi Eke and journalist Mr. Anote Ajeluorou, evaluated submissions based on originality, narrative strength, coherence, language and dramatic intensity. Imasuen highlighted the overall impact of each work as a crucial factor in their decision-making process.
This year’s Quramo Festival of Words (Qfest), now in its eighth edition, showcased a diverse range of African voices and stories. The event, which has evolved from its origins as the Kuramo Conference, featured panel discussions, book chats, poetry performances, and film screenings, all centered around the theme “The Shifting: Empowering Voices… Inspiring Minds.”
Imasuen explained that each manuscript was “scrutinized against five key criteria: originality, narrative strength, coherence, language, and dramatic intensity. But beyond these formal categories, we also considered a sixth and perhaps most important criterion—each manuscript’s overall impact on us as readers. These works showcase the immense talent and creativity within contemporary African writing. From deeply personal narratives about familial bonds and betrayal to stories of survival against unimaginable odds, each piece carries a distinct voice that speaks to the core of the human experience. The writers have displayed exceptional mastery of character development, emotional depth, and storytelling, making this year’s shortlist a collection brimming with promise.
“The Worst Nightmare” by Chukwuma Jonathan was first runner-up while “Rajah and Eva” by Abiodun Selome Medemaku came third.
“As we conclude this remarkable journey through the shortlisted manuscripts, I am deeply moved by the diversity and depth of the stories brought to life,” said Imasuen in conclusion. “Each manuscript resonated with a unique authenticity and intensity that speaks to the future of African literature. These works, though in their early stages, hold the potential to become timeless, reflecting the resilience and richness of the human spirit. The talent we’ve seen ensures that the future of African storytelling is in capable hands. I eagerly await what these writers will create next.”
There were other prize winners before the curtain fell on Qfest 2024. At the QShorts Community Film Screening, Moses Ipadeola’s film Ekun Iyawo was adjudged Top Short Film; he went home with N100,000. Also, Saheed Sunday went home with N100,000 for Qfest Poetry Word Slam. A student of Vivian Fowler College Azima Davis also won the QCommand Challenge for Young Readers contest.
In her closing remarks, Quramo Festival of Words’ Convener and CEO of Quramo Publishers Mrs. Gbemi Shasore expressed excitement at this year’s festival, the eighth in a row, sharing with her audience its historical trajectory from a conference event that has metamorphosed into feast of words by the Atlantic Ocean that the Eko Hotel sits on.
“I am humbled, excited, and a little saddened to make these closing remarks to what has been a thoroughly exciting QFest, which I am sure you all have enjoyed as much as I have. Every year, we have gathered here in Lagos for the QFest, as we have been doing now for eight years and counting, to celebrate African literature, arts, and creativity.
“Our festival history dates back to the ‘Kuramo Conference’—that is, Kuramo with a ‘K’—which was first hosted 15 years ago in 2009 and was dedicated mainly to development themes. We have sustained that tradition and first hosted it as the Quramo Festival of Words in December 2017. Since then, there have been successive editions of the festival, including a virtual edition in 2020 due to restrictions necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
She further expounded on the aptness of this year’s edition as captured in its theme and how it has expanded the discourse on words as presented on two major creative expressions as literature and film in invaluable panel discussions and hands-on workshops.
According to Shasore, “This eighth edition themed The Shifting: Empowering Voices… Inspiring Minds has done a lot to encourage an expansive discourse about our creative industry that is evolving dynamically on a local, continental, and global scale. We have offered panel discussions, book chats, poetry performances, and film screenings curated to inspire resilience and regeneration.
“There is a shifting in opportunities for written publication, film, and in every other way we tell our unique stories. The shifting is happening and Africa is at the centre of it. Where are our new African writers and readers? Where is the growth of our publishers, literary agents, book distributors, and bookstores? Where are our African online vendors? This is a supply chain that will enthrone Africa as an ever-authentic hub of unique stories and storytelling.
“We urge our community and beyond to continue to support the production chain of how arts and stories are created, recorded, distributed, and consumed. We urge them to accept the shifting landscape and leverage its many opportunities for positive change.”
Shasore also spoke about the celebratory part of Qfest 2024 that focused on the renowned Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, who had two films on him shown during the festival.
“This year, we celebrated one of our giants in Nigerian and World literature, Professor Wole Soyinka, with the screening of The Man Died which based on his remarkable memoir, and Ebrohimie Road, a riveting documentary on his fractious relationship with the University of Ibadan in the 1960s,” she said. “The documentary is named after the location of Professor Soyinka’s residence at the University of Ibadan campus, and the interesting serendipity is that this name also commemorated a remarkable but painful point in our national history. Ebrohimie, in Nigeria’s Delta, was where the colonial authorities waged a punitive invasion against Chief Nanna of Itsekiri in 1894. The Ebrohimie Invasion was a punishment to Nanna for defying the authorities on behalf of his people; the metaphor should not be lost on any of us.
“These initiatives show that Quramo has gone full circle to our roots 15 years ago: development. We remain committed to developing minds and people, and building strong and healthy communities.”
