₦1.5 million up for grabs in book review contest on Ifowodo’s ‘Why Does God Need a Gun?’
By Editor
NIGERIAN readers and families can now win cash prizes totalling ₦1.5 million in a book reading and review competition organised by Dr. Awele Ilusanmi-led The Awele Ilusanmi Foundation, featuring Why Does God Need a Gun? by Ogaga Ifowodo, winner of The Nigeria Prize for Literature 2026. The competition, administered by Authors’ Hub under the foundation’s 36 States and FCT Rewarding Reading Initiative, seeks to promote reading culture, encourage family reading, celebrate the winning author and increase readership for the poetry book that recently won The Nigeria Prize for Literature 2026.
The competition features two categories: Best Family Book Review Award and Best Individual Book Review Award. In the family category, winners will receive ₦500,000, ₦300,000 and ₦200,000 for first, second and third places, respectively. The individual category offers ₦250,000 for first place, ₦150,000 for second and ₦100,000 for third place.
Open to Nigerian citizens living in Nigeria and abroad, the competition requires participants to submit original, thoughtful reviews. Family entries must be jointly produced by at least two family members and may be submitted as a written review of 500–1,000 words or a video of five to seven minutes. Individual participants may submit a written review of 500–800 words or a video lasting three to five minutes. Reviews should explore the book’s themes, messages and literary qualities, as well as the lessons readers can draw from it. The organisers emphasise that reviews need not be positive, as entries will be judged on their quality and authenticity.
Participants are encouraged to purchase the book from an authorised bookseller or the publisher, Masobe Books, and retain their receipts as proof of purchase. Copies are also available at Rovingheights Bookstore, 28 Ogunlana Drive, Surulere, Lagos (+234 810 979 5365) and other Rovingheights Bookstores (Ibadan, Abuja, Kaduna, Landmark, Lagos) or any bookshop nationwide.
Entries, accompanied by participants’ names and phone numbers, should be sent to readingcompetition26@gmail.com no later than 15 January 2027. For further information, interested participants may contact Dr. Ilusanmi, Queen of Books, via WhatsApp on 09054018081. Although the foundation has clarified that the initiative is independent and not an official NLNG competition, the contest provides a further publicity and marketing boost to the poetry collection that won USD$100,000 over a week ago in Lagos. Ilusanmi’s initiative signals the many ways a book can be publicised and marketed across many audiences, since the review contest is not limited only to literary experts but ordinary Nigeria families and individuals that have flare for reading generally and want to convert it to money.
