Zaynab Iliyasu Bobi Is The Winner of Inaugural Chukwuemeka Prize for Literature.

In an online event held on Saturday, 13th May, 2023, Zaynab Iliyasu Bobi was announced winner of the inaugural Chukwuemeka Akachi Prize for Literature. Her poem, “A Conversation  Between A Cyborg And A Therapist“, was picked from a shortlist of 12. Honourable mentions included: “Portraiting As A Cat In A Poem Where I Have Lived Six Times” By Muhammed Sanni Olowonjoyin and “I Do Not Know What to Tell You” By Chidozie Emesowum.

Zaynab Iliyasu Bobi, Frontier I, is a Nigerian-Hausa poet, digital artist and photographer from Bobi studying  Medical Laboratory Science at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto. She is the winner of the Gimba Suleiman Hassan Gimba ESQ Poetry Prize 2022, a Pushcart and Best of The Net Nominee with works in Strange Horizons, Fiyah Literary Magazine, CutBank Literary Journal, Native Skin, The Drift, Lucent Dreaming, The Deadlands, Agbowó, Omenana Magazine, and elsewhere. Tweet @ZainabBobi.

With a debut prize of 100,000 naira, Chukwuemeka Akachi Prize was launched in remembrance of genius poet, Chukwuemeka Akachi. It is sponsored by Poetry Column- NND and Arts Lounge and dedicated to raising awareness on mental health. Congratulations, Zaynab!