Deadline: 24 September 2010
This is the year of the African. That is, if you believe the buzz. Almost half of the countries in the African continent will celebrate 50 years of independence this year. Nigeria is one of those countries. On October 1, 1960, the British handed over and we attained ‘independence’. So in a few weeks time, Naija will be 50 years old.
Here at Naija Stories, we have put together a writing contest to commemorate October 1st. People who wish to participate will write a short flash fiction piece featuring Independence Day. This could be about an event that happens on any of the October 1st days since 1960 till date and beyond. It could be about any other thing your imagination can come up with that involves that day. “Independence Day” as a word must also appear in the story.
Let’s look at some ideas. What are your plans for that day? The government is baking a massive monument which will be divided and sent to all parts of the country so everyone can literally eat of the “National Cake”. There are also various other events, the government plans to spend around N17 billion. I’m sure there will be private events too, to reminisce on what’s changed in the past 50 years and what we’re looking forward to.
Contest Guidelines:
1. Register at Naijastories.com and log in.
2. Make your submission as a post on the website with a title that defines your entry.
3. In the body of the post, put in your entry. All stories must be original and not previously published, no political essays or commentaries please.
4. Your entry should be a maximum of 500 words.
5. Put the entry in the category of “Independence Day Contest” and press the button, “Submit for Review”.
Dates for Contest:
The contest opens today September 8th and submissions end on September 24th.
Popular Voting – September 24th – September 29th, 2010
Final Judging – September 29th – September 30th
The winner will be announced by October 1st.
Prizes :
First place winner – $150, and their story will be linked on the Front Page of the website.
Second place winner – $100, and their story will be linked on the Front Page of the website.
Third Place winner – $50, and their story will be linked on the Front Page of the website.
Contest Procedure:
To make this an all inclusive contest, Naija Stories will have 2 stages for determining the winner;
Stage 1. – Popular Voting: There will be a poll set up on NaijaStories.com to collect these votes. At this stage, all those who submitted stories for the contest can invite friends to vote for their entries.
Stage 2. – Vetting: The Naija Stories team will select the most suitable of the entries. The top three entries with the most votes will be the winners of the contest.
Judging Criteria:
- The first round voting will depend on the people who read the entries. As I always say, you do not know who is reading. Get ready to broadcast your entries to friends for their votes.
- Second round judges will be checking for clean use of the English language so polish your grammar and keep typos to a minimum please! This is a contest but you’re also expected to treat it like a writing exercise.
If you have any questions, please send a mail to info@naijastories.com.