Poetry Contest Nigeria 2026, Enter Online
Quick answer: Monthly poetry contest for Nigerian poets. English, Pidgin, Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa welcome. Cash prizes, certificates for all, scored feedback every month.
Nigeria's poetry runs from Christopher Okigbo's Labyrinths and Wole Soyinka's Nobel to Niyi Osundare's public verse and the crowded spoken word rooms of Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja and Port Harcourt. Behind the page tradition sit older ones that never stopped: Yoruba oriki praise naming, ijala chanted by hunters, Hausa waka, and the Igbo song forms that still shape how a line lands when it is said out loud.
Writory holds a monthly international contest built for exactly that range. Write in English, in Naija Pidgin, in Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa. The cycle opens on the 1st, closes on the 25th and results are announced on the 30th, with cash prizes for winners and a participation certificate issued to every poet who enters. Entries have come from more than 50 countries, and Nigerian poems compete right across that field.
Writory runs a monthly international poetry contest that Nigerian poets can enter in English, Pidgin, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa or any other language, with cash prizes for winners and certificates for all entrants.
Why enter
- Pidgin is treated as a literary language here, not as a novelty, and is scored on the same five criteria as everything else.
- A spoken word piece typed out for the page competes normally, with no requirement that a poem belong to a printed tradition.
- Writory is listed on Writing Africa alongside Duotrope and Reedsy, so Nigerian entrants are in a properly indexed competition rather than an unknown one.
- Results arrive monthly, which gives a working Nigerian poet twelve documented submissions a year to build a record from.
- Poets from the age of 13 can enter, so secondary school writers in Enugu or Kano compete in the same pool as everyone else.
What winners and entrants receive
- Cash prizes are paid to the month's winning poets.
- Every entrant, whether shortlisted or not, receives a participation certificate.
- The month's top ten poems are published on the leaderboard at writoryofficial.com/leaderboard.
- Winners enter free the following month, and a three month unbroken run of entries earns a free entry too.
Oriki influenced praise poetry, ijala, Hausa waka, Igbo song forms, spoken word set down for the page, sonnets, prose poetry and free verse are all accepted, in English, Pidgin or any Nigerian language.
Key facts
- Entries open the 1st, close the 25th at 11:59 PM IST, results on the 30th.
- One poem $5, two poems $8, five poems $15 (Rs 150 / Rs 220 / Rs 450 in India).
- Every poem scored by human judges on five criteria: creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme.
- A participation certificate for every entrant, not only winners, and the score is visible in your profile.
- Cash prizes for winners, free entry the following month for winners, open worldwide from age 13, any language.
Questions
Will a poem in Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa or Pidgin really be read?
Yes. Writory accepts any language, and Nigerian language entries go through the same reading and the same scoring as English ones. Nothing needs to be translated before you submit it.
How do I know a Nigerian entry gets a fair reading against Europe or America?
The scoring sheet does not record nationality. It records five marks, creativity, emotion, structure, language and theme, and each poet can open their own marks in their profile after results.
How much do I pay to submit from Nigeria?
Entry is billed in US dollars, $5 for one poem, $8 for two and $15 for five, with no separate country pricing. Win, and next month is free. Enter three months without a gap and one entry is free as well.
When are winners published?
The 30th, every month, after entries have closed on the 25th. Scores appear in your profile at the same time.
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By the Writory editorial team. Updated July 2026.
Enter the September contest · All poetry competitions 2026: deadlines & prizes · International poetry contest · Past winners · Read the winning poems