The Nigeria Prizes 2026 focuses on poetry, documentary film, technology as entries open
By Editor
THE Nigeria Prizes 2026 edition has made a call for poets, documentary filmmakers, scientists and innovators to apply for its prestigious prizes that include The Nigeria Prize for Literature, The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation and The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts. While the focus for The Nigeria Prize for Literature 2026 is on poetry, The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation has ‘Innovations in AI or ICT or Digital Technology for Development’ as themes (researchers and innovators can work on any of the three sub-themes) and The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts has ‘Identity’ as theme. Also, while The Nigeria Prize for Literature and The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation have USD$100,000 each as prize rewards for excellence in writing and scientific innovation, The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts has USD$20,000 as prize reward. The Nigeria Prizes is sponsored by gas company, NLNG.
While entry closes for The Nigeria Prize for Literature March 31, 2026, entry closes for The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation and The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts on April 30, 2026. To enter for The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts, intended documentary filmmakers, who must be Nigerians aged 18-35 living anywhere in the world, must work on a non-fiction documentary film that must have been completed between April 2024 and April 2026 and must not be more than 20 minutes long. Importantly, the use of artificial intelligence-generated images or music will not be acceptable. Only one entry per filmmaker is acceptable.
According to the organisers of The Nigeria Prizes, The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts “celebrates and rewards exceptional Nigerian filmmakers, irrespective of residence, who use the power of documentary film to tell authentic stories that preserve Nigeria’s heritage, challenge perspectives and inspire change. Under the theme ‘Identity’, filmmakers are invited to use the genre of documentary film to explore who we are as individuals, communities and cultures, and how our identity shape our view of the world.”
For scientists and innovators working on The Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation, who could be Nigerians and non-Nigerians, their “work should be of outstanding merit and should have advanced frontiers of knowledge and/or provide innovative technology in Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Information Communication Technology (ICT) or Digital Technologies for Development. The entry should be a completed scientific work or innovative technology, substantiated by either a proof of concept or tangible social impact.”
Last year winner of The Nigeria prize for Literature was Oyin Olugbile for her novel, Sanya, as the focus for 2025 was prose fiction. There was no winner for the science prize last year. However, in 2024 The Nigeria Prize for Science was awarded to three co-winners: two Nigerians, Dr. Eni Oko, Dr. Olajide Otitoju, and a foreigner, Professor Meihong Wang. They were recognized for their work on “Process Intensification Technology for Greenhouse Emission Control in Power Generation and Industry for Sustainable Fuel Production (PIC-FUEL)”. The Nigeria Prize for Creative Arts is making its maiden edition and hopes to produce a winning work at its first outing.
The Nigeria Prizes 2026 will be awarded in October at a grand event in Lagos. For more information on entry requirements, mode of submission, rules, etc, visit The Nigeria Prizes website: www.thenigeriaprizes.org.
Chairperson, Advisory Board for Literature, Prof. Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo (left); General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development at NLNG, Dr. Sophia Horsfall and Advisory Board Chairman for Science and Innovation, Prof. Barth Nnaji at the recent unveiling of The Nigeria Prizes’ communication visuals… in Lagos
