ZODML Poetry Prize 2025: “Seeds of Tomorrow”
The Zaccheus Onumba Dibiaezue Memorial Libraries (ZODML) is now accepting entries for the ZODML Poetry Prize 2025—a celebration of youthful creativeness and inventive promise. This 12 months’s theme, “Seeds of Tomorrow,” invitations college students in Nigerian public universities and polytechnics to plant their phrases firmly within the soil of hope, imaginative and prescient, and renewal.
Eligibility for the ZODML Poetry Prize
The prize is open completely to undergraduate and postgraduate college students presently enrolled in Nigerian public tertiary establishments. This contains public universities and polytechnics throughout the nation.
Submission Pointers for the ZODML Poetry Prize
- Submit one authentic, unpublished poem in both English or an indigenous Nigerian language (with an accompanying English translation).
- Most size: 50 traces
- Format: Typed in Instances New Roman, 12-point font
- Add your poem by means of the official ZODML Poetry Prize portal
- Submission Deadline: August 31, 2025, at midnight GMT
Winners might be introduced in November 2025.
Prizes
- First Prize: ₦500,000, a winner’s medal, and a trophy in your college
- Second Prize: ₦300,000 and a medal
- Third Prize: ₦200,000 and a medal
- High 10 finalists will obtain certificates and publication within the ZODML Poetry Anthology
All entries might be judged blindly by a panel of distinguished poets, led by the award-winning Nigerian poet Tade Ipadeola.
Ideas for Sturdy Submissions
Whether or not you’re writing in English or a Nigerian language, these practices can strengthen your entry:
- Start with a compelling picture or line
- Keep near the theme, however don’t be afraid to interpret it creatively
- Use contemporary language and authentic metaphors
- Learn your poem aloud to fine-tune rhythm and readability
- Edit ruthlessly—tighten your line breaks, get rid of muddle
Need assistance sharpening your poem? Listed here are two useful reads:
Why This Issues
The ZODML Poetry Prize is a platform that amplifies the voices of younger Nigerian creatives. At its coronary heart is a perception that poetry can encourage, problem, and reimagine futures.
So for those who’re a pupil with one thing to say about tomorrow, that is your probability to say it—powerfully, poetically, and publicly.
