NLNG, CORA fete 11 poets on 2026 Nigeria Prize for Literature longlist

By Onu Okorie

Eleven poets longlisted for the 2026 edition of The Nigeria Prize for Literature took center stage in Lagos as the Nigeria LNG Limited NLNG, in partnership with the Committee for Relevant Art CORA, hosted the annual CORA Book Party.

The event, held shortly after the longlist announcement, gave the shortlisted poets a public forum to present their work, read from selected pieces, and interact with readers, critics, journalists, publishers, students, and other members of the literary community. The afternoon featured readings, panel conversations, and broader literary and cultural programming built around this year’s poetry cycle.

The eleven works emerged from a field of 223 entries submitted for the Prize’s poetry cycle, following a call for submissions issued in February. A panel of judges appointed for the 2026 edition reviewed the entries to arrive at the longlist, which represents an intermediate stage in the adjudication process ahead of a shortlist and the eventual naming of a winner later this year.

Speaking at the event, NLNG’s General Manager for External Relations and Sustainable Development, Sophia Horsfall, said the Book Party underscored the value of platforms that carry literature beyond the printed page and into public conversation. She said the Prize was founded to honor outstanding writing and to build Nigeria’s culture of reading and critical engagement, and noted that this year’s poetry focus highlights a genre able to compress complex truths into language that links personal experience to universal themes.

She pointed to the scale of interest in this year’s cycle, noting that the 223 submissions each brought their own rhythm and perspective, and reflected the confidence Nigerian writers continue to place in the NLNG-backed prize.

CORA Secretary-General Toyin Akinosho said the Book Party was built to create a literary encounter where books are read, discussed, and appreciated rather than simply announced, calling it a meaningful intervention in Nigeria’s literary space for the visibility it gives authors and the direct contact it fosters between writers and readers.

Akinosho also credited NLNG for its continued financial backing of Nigeria’s reading culture, framing the sponsorship as a deliberate choice by a profitable gas company to reinvest in the country’s literary space. He described the CORA–NPL Book Party as unusual among literary prizes for bringing authors face-to-face with a room of readers to discuss their work ahead of the final award.

Now in its 22nd year, The Nigeria Prize for Literature rotates annually among four genres — Prose Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Children’s Literature — with NLNG as sponsor. The 2026 edition is dedicated to poetry, and a winner is expected to be named in October. The CORA Book Party is one of several events leading up to that announcement, giving the public a chance to engage directly with the longlisted authors and their work.