After a three day literary experience curated by the wave making Quramo Publishing tagged Quramo Festival of Words, (QFest2019) which featured literary masterclasses, panel discussions and exciting film screenings, the literary event climaxed with the announcement of the winner of the Quramo Writers’ Prize which is awarded to an unpublished fiction manuscript.

After the ‘Q-Conversations’ with Molara Wood interviewing Kadaria Ahmed and Toni Kan interviewing Bankole Olayebi, the three judges A. Igoni Barrett, Molara Wood and head judge Toni Kan mounted the stage to announce the Top 5 and the Top 3 after a short interlude.

The third place entry went to Jaiyeola Temitayo Tomiwa for his entry, ‘You will be Fine’ with Joan Wawira Thatiah in second place for her manuscript ‘Guilty.’

The winning entry went to Vivian Onyekachi Ibe for ‘What Dreams Are Made Of’. She is the first female winner of the prize coming after Samuel Monye, QWP2017 and Emmanuel Michael QWP2018.

The judge’s citation described the winning entry “as an assured and astute work of fiction from a writer whose sensibility is popular without veering into the superficial… Our winning entry is a fast-paced, action-packed thriller with great characterisation, and dollops of wit and humour. It will find legions of readers and spark urgent conversations especially among the millennials and so ultimately expand the universe of the prize.”

Responding to her win, Vivian Onyekachi Ibe said “I am honestly overwhelmed by the outcome because I really didn’t expect it. My intention was to just come around and congratulate the winner.”

The winner of the Quramo Writers Prize goes home with a cash prize of one million naira and the possibility of a Quramo book publishing deal.

When asked how long it took to put the book together, Vivian Onyekachi Ibe who works in the administrative section of a Lagos law firm revealed that it took a shocking two weeks to piece the winning entry of 50,000 words together.

“I first saw the announcement for the entry on Okada books and I decided to go for it,” she said when asked about how she stumbled on the competition.

•PHOTO: L-R; Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat, wife of the Deputy Governor, Lagos State, looks on as Mrs. Ibironke Sanwo-olu, Lagos State First Lady, presents the cheque of N1m to Vivian Onyekachi Ibe, winner of the Quramo Writers Prize 2019, for her entry “What Dreams Are Made Of”. On stage with her are Mrs. Gbemi Shasore, Executive Publisher, Quaramo Publishing, Toni Kan (head judge), Molara Wood (judge) and Igoni Barrett (judge) at the winner unveil on Sunday, December 15, 2019 in Lagos.

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