The TY Buratai Literary Initiative (TYBLI) has announced six zonal winners for its 2025 Young Adult Literature Prize, selected from 106 entries submitted for the writing competition.
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The organisation said a shortlist of three finalists will be revealed this October before the grand prize winner is announced at an awards ceremony on November 1, 2025.
The TY Buratai Literary Initiative is a non-profit project with the mission of promoting literacy, fostering a culture of reading, and supporting young writers in the Young Adult Literature genre. The initiative is sponsored by Lt. General TY Buratai (Rtd.).
Chairperson of the initiative, Dr Lizi Ben Iheanacho, announced earlier this year that prize amounts have been increased for 2025. The grand prize will be raised to N1.5 million while the six zonal winners will each receive N500,000.
In its inaugural awards in 2024, the initiative celebrated young writers, with Taofeek Olatunbosun winning the grand prize of one million naira. Other zonal winners received N250,000 each.
The 2024 regional winners were Sima Essien from South South with Dream Walker; Micheal Ighonekwu from South East with “Mysteries of the Haunted House”; Bilqisu Abubakar from North West with “The Last Sacrifice”; Olatunbosun Taofeek from South West with “Truth and Dare”; Hajarah Bashar from North Central with “Portraiture of A Dreamer”; and Yohanna Daniel from North East with “The Northern Boy.” Olatunbosun Taofeek’s Truth and Dare emerged as the winning story.
An anthology comprising the best 10 entries from the 2024 competition is being prepared for distribution to secondary and tertiary institutions nationwide.
The initiative also operates a book placement programme that creates mini-libraries in the form of “book boxes” for underserved schools to improve access to age-appropriate leisure reading materials. In 2024, the initiative placed book boxes in three schools across Nasarawa State and the Federal Capital Territory.
In 2025, the initiative expanded its reach by donating mobile libraries containing at least 40 assorted books to Girau International School, Kaduna; LGEA Unguwar Sarki School, Kaduna; School Of The Gifted, Gwagwalada; Air Force Girls Comprehensive School, Abuja; and Nasarawa State University Uke, Keffi.
The 2025 zonal winners and their works are:
- Adoo Gyuur: “Daughters of Ashes” – North Central
- Daniel Yohanna: “A Boy From Far North” – North East
- ER Umukoro: “The Distortion of Hardassah” – South South
- Ikemefuna Chinenyike Lawrence Ezemagu: “Garden of Garget” – South East
- Sarah Yousuph: “When the Road Curves” – South West
- Yusrah Bashir Gaga: “My Darkest Nightmares” – North West
Dr Ben Iheanacho expressed appreciation to all 106 entrants and encouraged them to continue writing, describing their contributions as valuable even if their works were not shortlisted.
The initiative said it is seeking sponsors, media partners, literary blogs, educational institutions, and the reading public to help amplify its mission for talented young writers.
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