The Abebi AfroNonfiction Foundation is now accepting submissions for its 2025 award, inviting Nigerian women to explore the theme of witnessing through creative nonfiction essays. Submissions opened September 1 and will close on October 15 at 6pm WAT.

This year’s theme asks writers to pay close attention to the world around them, examining the cities they inhabit, the relationships they occupy, and the inner workings of their hearts, bodies, souls, and spirits. The foundation emphasizes that witnessing is born from a close, tender reckoning with personal truths that shape reality.

Eligibility and Submission Guidelines

  • The award is open to Nigerian women, 18 and above who were born in, grew up in, or have significant lived experience within and proximity to the country. Entries from queer women are encouraged.
  • Applicants must not have published a complete body of work (such as a memoir or novel) through a publishing house by December 2025.
  • All entries should be creative nonfiction: real life stories derived from true events from the writer’s life, between 1,500–3,000 words in length.
  • Submissions should be made through the online form at https://forms.gle/xDVt4W9zXT1qcK3P9
  • Writers will receive responses in the third week of December.

The 2025 award will be judged by Ucheoma Onwutuebe, Ope Adedeji, and Mofiyinfoluwa O, founder of The Abebi AfroNonfiction Foundation. A winner will be announced in the first week of January 2026 alongside a runner-up and three notable entries. The winner receives N250,000, the runner-up N150,000, and each notable entry N75,000. All five writers will be invited to a two-day, all-expense-paid writer’s residency in Lagos in January 2026, closing with an award ceremony and reading event. The 2025 Abebi AfroNonfiction Award is generously sponsored by SELAR.

For more information and detailed submission guidelines, please visit theabebifoundation.com.