The Brigitte Poirson Literature Prize, 2023 Edition, is pleased to announce the winners of her poetry and short story contest.
- Short Story:
Divine Inyang Titus
Elisha Oluyemi
- Poetry:
Opeyemi Mensah Felix Bello
The BPPC, founded in 2015, is a monthly contest which ran from February- September, and in 2020 adapted to a bi-monthly format. It is named in honour of the renowned French Poet, Brigitte Poirson. It welcomed entries within and across Nigeria, with the poems of the top twenty finalists being compiled into a magazine, available online and in print. So far, the BPPC has a total of seventy six past prize winners. Prizes include a $300 cash prize ($150 for poetry & $150 for short fiction,) and a chapbook publishing (digital) contract with only one winner per category. Since the short story category emerged with two victors, the reward would be split between them.
All winning entries, including the shortlisted works, will be featured in the BPLP 2023 anthology which will be published in the first quarter of 2024. Additionally, each winner will have the exclusive opportunity to publish an electronic chapbook, showcasing their talent to a wider audience. This offer encompasses professional editing, layout, and e-publishing for a collection of up to 50 pages.
Winners’ Biography
- Divine Inyang Titus is a Nigerian writer navigating the challenges of his mid-20s while residing in his mother’s house in the Kogi hinterlands. He clinched victory in the STCW Future Folklore Climate Fiction Contest in 2021 and is the author of the chapbook “A Beautiful Place To Be Born.” His stories and poems have been featured or are forthcoming in esteemed publications such as Brittle Paper, Agbowo, The Ex-Puritan Magazine, Blue Marbles Review, The Parliament Literary Journal, The Shallow Tales Review, and others.
- Elisha Oluyemi is a Yorùbá writer who emerged triumphant in the 2022 Lagos-HCAF Writing Contest (Prose) and secured the position of 1st runner-up in the 2022 Shuzia Flash Fiction Contest. As the Editor-in-chief at Fiery Scribe Review, he played a pivotal role in co-editing the PROFWIC Crime Fiction Anthology, Vol. 1, and provided mentorship in the 2023 SprinNG Writing Fellowship. His writings and conversations have graced, or are slated for inclusion in, notable platforms such as the 2023 Mukana Press Anthology of African Writing, Broken Antler, LYRA, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, Mystery Tribune, Isele Magazine, Terror House, Sledgehammer, Brittle Paper, Salamander Ink, Stripes, and more.
- Opeyemi Mensah Felix Bello, an aspiring poet who doubles as a public-sector lawyer, holds licenses to practice in Nigeria, New York State, and Alberta. A product of OAU Ile-Ife, Sciences Po – Paris, and Harvard Law School, he is proficient in Yoruba, Guèn, English, and French. Born in Lagos, he currently resides in Edmonton.
