Back in the last century when I was a kid I won my fair share of writing prizes for my back-then handwritten essays and stories. The prizes were much appreciated – a book token, a cinema ticket, etc – but not quite in the same class as the trophy for winning Nigeria’s 2018 Channels Book Club’s Literature Prize: a trip to the Sharjah International Book Fair in the UAE.
Edo State Senior Secondary 3 student Osemudiame Legbedion picked up the award against competition from secondary schools in the six geo-political zones of the country, as part of the National Essay Competition, a joint venture by Channels Television and the Sharjah Book Authority. Two others will be joining her for what, at this stage in her still student career, must surely be the trip of a lifetime.
Sharjah, as well as hosting one of the biggest book fairs on the planet – 2.38 million visitors last year – is home to the world’s first publishing city, and is lined up to succeed Athens as World Book Capital next April.
Find out more about the Channels Book Club prize in NIgeria’s Leadership.
