Ishola cliches N1m QWP, publishing deal as Gnaho grabs N100,000 poetry slam @QFest 2025

By Godwin Okondo

LAST Friday, October 3, when Quramo Festival of Words 2025 kicked off proper, celebrating the five writers was the first major item. The writers were first introduced with a panel session moderated by culture manager, Mr. Segun Aribisala, where they spoke engagingly on their writing, manuscript entries and expectations about Quramo Writers Prize (QWP).

The longlisted five manuscripts and their writers included ‘Black Bird’ by Chioma Jane Okeagu, ‘Kaku’ by Esther Eniola Oyeleye, ‘Moon Child’ by Abisola Junaid, ‘Son of the Harem’ by Harry Onyeogo and ‘What Binds, What Breaks’ by Hubaidat Oyinkansola Ishola.

Thereafter, QFest Convener, Mrs. Gbemi Shasore, alongside her team, announced the third and second positions and the best submitted manuscripts for 2025. Eventually, it was Ishola’s ‘What Binds, What Breaks’ that clinched the Quramo Writers Prize worth N1 million plus a publishing deal. Junaid’s ‘Moon Child’ and Okeagu’s ‘Black Bird’ took second and third consolatory positions respectively.

On hand at the announcement and award of prize to Ishola were two of the judges – writer, culture promoter and head of jury, Mrs. Aduke Gomez and member, journalist and writer, Mr. Anote Ajeluorou, while Wase Aguele-Konu was absent. Ishola’s parents were on hand to share in their daughter’s joyous moment of winning Quramo Writers coveted prize that comes with a publishing deal. The winning manuscript for the 2023 edition, Dear Zimi by Chizeterem Chijoke, took Quramo Publishing company to Algiers, Algeria, as its entry for the CANEX Book Factory Prize for Publishing in Africa; it keenly contested for the USD$20,000 prize money and narrowly lost to South African publishing company, Karavan Press for its book, In Silence My Heart Speaks by Thobeka Yose. The prize speaks to the powerful platform that Quramo offers young writers to aspire, knowing that someone is taking note of their creative efforts.

Chijoke, who took the stage, would later express profound gratitude to Quramo and its CEO, Mrs. Shasore, for believing in her work and giving it wings to soar. She later revealed that she was working on a novel on distant marriages and its impact on family wellbeing.

Winner of QWP 2025, Hubaidat Oyinkansola Ishola and her parents

Also, it was an evening of fire-spitting spoken word performance two days later on Sunday, October 5, as 10 young poets lined up the stage at the Eko Hotel and Suites venue for Quramo Festival of Words 2025. This was after intense three days of panel sessions, film shows and exciting book chats. Sunday, October 5 started on a quiet note with Irish guest poet, Stephen James Smith, who was christened with three Nigerian names – Olamide, Chigozie and Mustapha – by the compere, Gloria Babarinde, to hilarious applause, set the performance ball rolling. Then came QFest’s signature Q-Conversation, which had veteran actress Joke Silva pairing off with festival converner, Mrs. Shasore. It was a session that yielded intimate moments with the actress where she barred it all to her audience. Particularly moving was her recalling the tragic loss of her daughter in a careless manner in the hands of medical personnel at a tertiary medical facility.

When it ended, the young poets, mostly university undergraduates and newly graduated ones, lined up stage to strut their creative stuff. Incredibly, three literary heavy weights – Kenya’s Prof. Mukoma wa Ngugi and his journalism counterpart, Mr. James Murua and Smith – were the poetry slam jury. The audience in the hall also had a say in who won, as it was assigned 70% of scores each poet would garner. Last year’s winner, Saheed Sunday, was the moderator of the poetry slam session.

After a gruelling contest that lasted over an hour, with the young poets improvising and delivering excellent pieces to thrill the audience that deliriously supported the poets, three word slammers – Samuel Adeshimisola (Shimisola), Temiloluwa Bolawole (THATPOET) and Michael Gnaho (MAG) – became the last acts standing. And after further rounds of contest, Gnaho emerged winner and went home with the N100,000 cash prize.

And as the curtains closed on QFest 2025, young creatives eagerly await the next festival, knowing that their creative skills will yet again be rewarded if they put in the works and submit their entries, whether as writers with manuscripts of note or spoken word poets, who will find QFest 2026 stage a veritable playground to exhibit their budding craft and be rewarded for it.

Spoken word slam judge and Irish poet, Stephen James Smith (left); spoken poets – Temiloluwa Bolawole and Adeshimisola Samuel; QFest Convener, Mrs. Gbemi Shasore; poetry slam winner, Michael Gnaho and Kenyan journalist and slam judge, Mr. James Murua after the poetry slam contest