Literary Competition Offers N1.7m Cash Prizes To Teenagers, Youths

The Boy Who Found Gold Literary Competition is set to award N1.7 million cash prize to Nigerian teenagers and youths aged 15 to 35 with the best essay submissions.

Named after Caleb Onyeabor’s novel ‘The Boy Who Found Gold’, the competition centres around the novel’s themes of ambition, hope and the pursuit of one’s dreams.

It tells the story of a young boy, who, determined not to end up like his father, and fuelled by a deep desire to provide a better life for his ailing mother, embarks on a quest to find gold.

To embark on the perilous journey to the City of Gold, he has only the words of wisdom from an old family friend, a symbolic book of gold, and six other boys as companions. Along the way, the boys encounter trials, losses, and life-shaping lessons that merge ancient wisdom with modern truth.

The grand prize winner takes N1 million cash, while the first and second runners-up receive N500,000 and N200,000 cash prizes, respectively.

To qualify for the competition, contestants must obtain a copy of ‘The Boy Who Found Gold’ from partner bookshops and NGOs across the country listed on the competition website, and pen an essay on ‘personal and generational lessons’ learnt from the story.

The national organiser of ‘The Story of the Boy Who Found Gold—Lessons for Me and My Generation’ and founder of Williams Worldwide, Billy Nwoye, said the competition was born from the desire to use storytelling as a tool for inspiration.

“Onyeabor’s novel is not just an African story of ambition, resilience and the pursuit of dreams, but also a call to action for young people to find their own ‘gold’ in life. This is why the contest is organised around the book,” he said.

Abiodun Adigun of Hanifar Dynamic Limited, another national organiser for the competition, couldn’t contain the forethought that the competition’s winner will be a contestant that is truly in need of the cash prize.

“Beyond promoting a strong reading culture and critical thinking among young people, the competition is likely to unearth a winner from a humble background – youths from underprivileged or middle-class families, as well as bright young minds in underserved communities,” he added.

‘The Boy Who Found Gold’ will be launched on September 30, and submissions for the competition will be automatically opened until December 31, 2025.