The grand finale of the 2018 Dusty Manuscript Contest took place on the 13th of June at a banquet held at GT Bank’s Head Office in Victoria Island, Lagos. After months of sorting through and reviewing 1000+ manuscript submission, it was now time to unveil the 3 winners.

The panel of four judges made up of authors Eghosa Imasuen, Yejide Kilanko and Toni Kan, and Assistant Professor of English Ainehi Edoro-Glines fielded questions about the judging process and spoke in more details about the top 20 manuscripts.

The top-3 winners were revealed at the banquet. Kukogho Iruesiri Samson went home with 1 million Naira for his manuscript titled Devil’s Pawn. The Orchid Protocol by Onoche Emeka Onyekwena came in at second place, which meant a cash reward of 500,000 Naira while Nneoma Anieto’s The Other Side of Truth got her third place and a cash reward of 250,000 Naira. All three authors will be offered publishing contracts with Farafina Books.

Dusty Manuscript Contest was established to give budding writers publishing opportunities. Given the state of the publishing industry in Nigeria and the barriers in traditional publishing, the contest couldn’t have been more timely. It was created by Okada Books and sponsored by GT Bank as part of its YOU READ Initiative aimed at promoting “the appreciation of art and supporting people’s creative potential.”

GT Bank’s Managing Director/CEO Segun Agbaje attended the event and presented checks to the top 3 winners.

Here are the photos from the event. Enjoy!