KCPC calls for submissions into ARA Aderinoye Literary Prize 2026
Young Poets in Kwara State have a new platform to showcase their craft and compete for literary recognition, following an announcement by former Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), Kwara Chapter, Mal. ARA Aderinoye, on his annual commitment of 300,000.00 Naira to the ARA Aderinoye Literary Prize under the Kwara Campus Poetry Championship (KCPC).
Aderinoye made the commitment in a message on Sunday to the Convener of KCPC, Dr. Mohammed Al-Amin El-Nasir and made available to Factual Naija News on Tuesday, expressing his intention to institute the annual prize as part of his partnership with the championship and contribution to the development of the literary ecosystem in Kwara State.
He also expressed his willingness to work with the KCPC team on the modalities for the seamless implementation of the initiative.
The ARA Aderinoye Literary Prize will feature two categories. The first will recognise the best written poem among participants in the KCPC 2026 Championship, while the second will be determined from the best entry received through an open call for submissions, which is open to all poets domiciled in Kwara State.
For the open-call category, poets are invited to submit two original poems on the theme, “Gender Relations, Social Responsibility and Shared Nation Building.” The poems may be written in any poetic form or style, but each poem must not exceed 25 lines.
Each entrant is required to provide their full name, email address, telephone number and residential details in Kwara State. Entries should be submitted as the body of an email to kwarapoetrychampionship@gmail.com, with elnasir11@gmail.com copied, on or before Sunday, 20 September 2026.
The organisers said, entries cannot be withdrawn once submitted. They also warned against the submission of AI-generated poems and simultaneous submission of the same work to another competition.
The shortlist for the open-call category will be announced at the KCPC capacity-building workshop scheduled for Saturday, 3 October 2026, at the Ilorin Innovation Hub, while the winners in the two categories will be announced at the KCPC 2026 Championship on Saturday, 24 October 2026.
The establishment of the prize adds a significant new dimension to the maiden KCPC, creating another avenue for poets across Kwara to have their work assessed, recognised and celebrated. It also reflects a growing effort by literary stakeholders to invest in the development of emerging voices and strengthen the state's creative and literary culture.
With Aderinoye's commitment to sustaining the prize annually, the initiative has the potential to become a lasting platform for discovering and encouraging poets while promoting thoughtful engagement with issues of gender relations, social responsibility and nation building.
Kwara's poets are therefore encouraged to seize the opportunity and bring their best work to the competition.
May the best poems win.
END
.jpeg)