Chief judge of the inaugural NATIVE Horror Stories Competition, Eloghosa Osunde, helped announce the winners on her Instagram! This year’s three winners of the competition are Verem Nwoji, Chidera Solomon Anikpe and Gabrielle Harry.

Verem Nwoji’s piece, “Witch Tree on this Haunted Hill Shall I Climb Into?” is a page-turning story about a “shadowy” world that explores transformation, unfolding with a slow-burning lucidity. Osunde says that “the bird, the tongue and the mother all brought me deep delight. I can’t wait to see what the writer does next.”

Chidera Solomon Anikpe’s piece, “The Girl Who Lived,” which follows motherhood and sacrifice. The story follows Asàgà, a woman who feels shame for her inability to bear a living child. She ends up making a deal with the gods and ends up giving birth to a daughter. When she finds out that her daughter’s life is paid for by the lives of others, Asàgà does everything she can to keep her daughter and everyone else save. According to Osunde, Chidera’s writing is “sweeping in scope, confidently rhythmic and deftly measured, reeling the reader into a waiting fog one sentence after the next.”

Gabrielle Harry’s piece, “Girls Who Flew at Night,” is full of dark surprises and suspense. The story follows a young girl at a boarding school, Ini, who becomes captivated by another student, Edisua. When Ini starts witnessing strange occurrences involving Edisua, the line between real and supernatural gets blurred. Osunde says it’s “prose is seductive, wickedly clever, and darkly composed. A stand out winner in every sense.”

NATIVE Magazine awards each winner $1,500, features their names in both the print and digital editions of The NATIVE Magazine, and provides personalized feedback from Osunde, hoping to make a meaningful impact on their writing careers.

Founded in 2016, the Nigerian-based NATIVE Magazine centers on how art and music can transform and redefine culture. The horror stories chosen from this competition use research and exploration to highlight Nigerian folklore.

Eloghosa Osunde was the perfect judge for this competition because of her extensive experience in the literary world as well as her passion for art and music. See her full Instagram post about the NATIVE Horror Stories Competition here!

Congrats to Verem Nwoji, Chidera Solomon Anikpe and Gabrielle Harry! To read more about the NATIVE Magazine go to their website here.