• Adequate proof that lack of structure affects literary quality
At bottom, the decision to withhold the 2015 Nigeria Prize for Literature, sponsored by Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), on account of unworthy entries, speaks volumes about non-performance in the country’s book publishing industry. It is alarming that the jury failed all the 109 books entered for the contest, focused on children’s literature this year.
The head of the panel of judges, Prof. Uwemedimo Enobong Iwoketok, said 89 entries failed from the beginning of the assessment process. “A disturbingly large number of entries were dropped at the initial stage of shortlisting because of grave editing and publishing errors,” she noted.
At a September 25 press conference in Lagos, an event that proved to be a non-event, the organisers of the contest emphasised the importance of stylistic excellence. “Unfortunately, the entries this year fall short of this expectation as each book was found to manifest incompetence in the use of language,” they said.
It is noteworthy that the international consultant for the prize, Prof. Kim Reynolds of the Newcastle University, United Kingdom, corroborated the judgement of the local judges. She observed: “The entries lack the lyricism, vision, and authority to become classics that will be handed down from generation to generation; and that have the potential to reach out across cultures.”
In this case, whether the said failure of craft and art is attributable to self-publishing or conventional publishing, the critical point about a failure of publishing cannot be ignored, or dismissed. In the context of self-publishing, the lure of winning the NLNG $100,000 prize money could have provided inspiration for many of the writers who participated in the literary competition, much more than any noble passion for literature. Of course, this approach has demonstrable drawbacks, particularly because it usually downplays the place of competent professionals like editors, designers and proofreaders who help to improve book production in traditional publishing.
Against the backdrop of identified production disadvantages of self-publishing, it would be even more worrying if books published conventionally were among those rejected by the NLNG jury.
Talking of getting the publishing structures right, and the resultant benefits for writing and writers, the shortlisting of a book, The Fishermen, by a Nigerian writer, Chigozie Obioma, for this year’s Man Booker Prize for Fiction, is a testimony to structural efficiency. Six books out of 156 entries were shortlisted for the international prize first awarded in 1969, and now open to writers of any nationality, writing originally in English and published in the UK. The winner will be announced in London on October 13.
It is food for thought that the NLNG prize assessors also blamed the anticlimax on ignorance, suggesting that the writers of the assessed works didn’t understand the essence of children’s literature. Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo who led the Advisory Board for the prize was quoted as saying: “Children’s literature entails cultural norms, milieu, values of any given society; it moulds, teaches, corrects, entertains, and crucially inspires the next generation of readers and writers. Most of the entries for this year were discovered to have inappropriate prominence given to the follow ing: violence, eroticism, mediocrity, cheating in examinations, bullying, exploration in mysticism and negative peer pressure. Distinctions need to be made between children’s literature and literature about children.”
Commendably, to address the observed lack of knowledge, the General Manager, External Relations, Nigeria LNG, Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke, said the organisation would invest the withheld prize money in a capacity-building workshop on children’s literature. But the plan should not be seen as a magic bullet. In the circumstances, the work required is wider.
In the 11-year history of the NLNG Prize instituted in 2004, this year is the third time without a winner. In 2004 (prose) and 2009 (poetry), there were no winners. According to Eresia-Eke, “This prize, which we bequeath to Nigeria, will be awarded for no other reason than excellence.”
Positive talk. There is no doubt that, ultimately, the expressed commitment to literary excellence is in the best interest of the country’s literary progress.
