Yousouph, Guyuur, Emenagu Battle For YALP Grand Prize, Winner To Be Announced Nov

Sarah Yousouph, Adoo Guyuur and Chinenyeike Ezemagu have been shortlisted in the final round of the T.Y Buratai Literary Initiative (TYBLI), 2025 Young Adult Literature Prize (YALP).

Selected from a  list of  winners from the six geo-political zones, the authors will battle it out for the YALP grand prize of N1.5 million, of which the winner walks away with a total of N2 million, including a regional cash prize  of N500,000, at the Award Ceremony  on November 1.

Yousouph’s ‘When The Road Bends’ (South West), Guyuur’s ‘Daughters of Ashes’ (North Central) and Ezeamagu’s ‘Garden of Gadget: DIGITeen’ (South East) made it from a  list of six which included – Daniel Yohanna’s ‘A Boy From Afar North’ (North East), E.R Umuokor’s ‘The Distortion of Hadassah’ (South South), and Yusrah Bashir Gaga’s ‘My Darkest Nightmare’ (North West).

Similarly, the TYBLI will also launch the inaugural edition of ‘Truth or Dare’ – an anthology comprising selected winning entries to the YALP 2024 maiden edition. The publication highlights the creativity, depth and diversity of voices emerging from the TYBLI platform.

The awards will also witness the posthumous award of the Young Adult Forerunners and Illustrators Award to the late Mohammed Sule in recognition of his enduring contributions to Nigerian literature and legacy to aspiring writers.

Founded by the TYBLI in 2024, YALP is part of the initiative’s effort at promoting young adult literature writing and authors, in addition to encouraging literature for leisure and literacy. The 2025 edition reinforces the initiatives vision of deploying literature as a tool for creative empowerment and national development.