From the outset, Teambooktu has been keenly involved in discovering and promoting African creative arts, especially amongst the youth and upcoming talents. Since 2023, we have embarked on challenges in various fields of the arts as showcased on our website. Namely, literary arts, visual arts, film & stage, and comics.

Here are details of the year-on-year competitions we have handled so far.

2023

SHORT STORY CHALLENGE #1

Held from September 2023 to November 2023

Our first challenge was an open-theme Short Story Challenge. A national competition open to all Teambooktu followers and subscribers, with cash prizes and autographed novels for winners.

Our Guest Judges:-

• ROTIMI BABATUNDE – 2012 winner of the prestigious AKO Caine Prize for Literature. Received fellowships from Ledig House, New York, and The MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire, among others. He has participated in International Playwriting residency at the Royal Court Theatre, London, and is a 2005 Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation guarantee. His play, The Bonfire of the Innocents, commissioned by Riksteatern (Sweden’s National Theatre), was on tour in translation across Sweden. Rotimi Babatunde lives and works in Nigeria.

• LINDA TEMIENOR-VINCENT holds a B.A. in English and Literature Education and an M.A. in International Relations from two Nigerian universities. Linda also received a diploma in Screenwriting from the New York Film Academy in 2019. She won the 2021 Global Voices Scholarship for Prose Fiction and completed an MA in Creative Writing, achieving a distinction at the University of East Anglia, where she also served as a panellist at the first Lee Child academic symposium. She won the 2023 Spotlight First Novel Award and the 2023 Bath Novel Awards Longlist Prize. Her first published book is Mouth Hung Open. Linda lives in Lagos and Norwich.

• FOLU AGOI, President of the Nigerian Centre of PEN International (aka PEN Nigeria), erstwhile Chairman of Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, Lagos Branch, winner of BBC Poetry Competition (2001), the Prof Wole Soyinka Award for Literature (2007), and SWANA (South West ANA) 2020 Poetry Competition, among others.   Folu is a creative (and academic) writer, poet, critic, literary activist, editor, publisher, and a University lecturer in English.

• CHARLES OPARA is an IT programmer, short story writer and speculative fiction novelist who enjoys the flow involved in creating both programs and stories. In 2015, his horror short “It Happened” was shortlisted for the Awele Creative Trust Prize, and in 2017, another story ‘Baby-girl’ was long-listed for the Quramo National Prize in his country. His short stories have been published in magazines such as Flash Fiction Press, Zoetic Press, and Ambit Magazine. His collection of short stories, How Hamisu Survived Bad Kidneys and a Bad Son-in-law, is published by Fomite Press.

Submissions:-

With persistent promotions on our social media platforms, we received 62 entries nationwide. They were screened for AI generation and plagiarism before review. Here is the 15-story long list:-

This was eventually whittled down to a Shortlist of 6. Remarkably, all short-listers were women!

Final Results:-

• Wrong Timing (Naomi Kalu a.k.a. Hudiyah) 1ST PRIZE WINNER
• Iji (Thunderstorm) (Dejah Feyi) 2ND
• Nwakaego (Isidinma Nnamdi) 3RD
• On a Dark Night  (Nwafor Chidiogor) 4TH
• The Two Strangers (Pamela Erhiakeme) 5TH
• The Guest (Favour Igwemoh) 6TH

All stories on the long list are published in our Short Stories section.

Congratulations to everyone brave enough to submit their work! It is a great feat! Thank you, Teambooktu, for giving a platform for this. – Ugomma Naomi Kalu (winner)

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NATURE PHOTO CHALLENGE #1

Held from November 2023 to January 2024

Our second challenge was a Photo Challenge with pictures on Nature as the focus. Also a national competition open to all Teambooktu followers and subscribers, with cash prizes for the top 3 winners.

Our Guest Judges:-

• PAUL BRUINS – ‘Panorama Paul’ is a semi-retired South African professional photographer. As a boy, he never went far without some sort of camera. He has experimented with a large range of equipment and styles. His love for nature and the outdoors saw him move towards landscape photography as his niche, using multiple-image panoramas. He published a photo album of his large body of work called Memorable Moments.

• MATURE TANKO is a product of the ‘Nsukka School of Art’ (Umu-Uli) with a BA in Fine and Applied Arts and an MA in Art History (Honours). He has authored several books, one of which is Photography for Schools and Colleges (2015), which is being used in schools in Lagos and Abuja.

• OMOYENI AJANAKU has worked with various groups of adventurers from Backpackers Lagos to Irin Ajo, a tourist platform that organises activities in choice destinations and other related adventures. Yemi loves nature, adventure, and capturing great moments.

Submissions:-

We received entries nationwide in this top niche field of photography and narrowed them down to a Short list of 6:-

Final Results:-

• Riverine Reflections: Makoko Serenity (Tony Dolapo Oshiame) 1ST PRIZE WINNER
• Rebirth (Damilola Matthew Adekoya) 2ND
• This is my compound (Israel Bakare) 3RD
• Lekki Conservation Centre (Mary-Joan Nwaogu)  4TH
• Surviving Chaos (Nkasiobinnaya Mbonu) 5TH
• Nighttime in  Otokutu (Erumena Amata) 6TH

Photographs of all shortlisters are published in Nature Photochallenge Short Listers and honourable mentions in Nature Photochallenge Honours.

I am truly excited to be a part of this challenge and to contribute to the celebration of nature through my lens. Thank you for providing this platform for photographers to showcase their work & connect with fellow nature enthusiasts...Thank you Teambooktu for this initiative and platform that recognizes and rewards young creatives. You’re the best! – Tony Dolapo Oshiame (winner)

2024

KENE OFFOR-TEAMBOOKTU POETRY CHALLENGE #1

Held from December 2023 to February 2024

Our very first Pan-African (international) challenge was our third. In collaboration with a US-based art-lover, Kenechukwu Offor, we hosted a Poetry Challenge with a total cash prize of $175 ($100 winner, $50 runner-up, $25 third place).

Our Guest Judges:-

• ROTIMI BABATUNDE (Caine Prize winner and judge in SS Challenge #1)

• OBARI GOMBA – 2023 NLNG Prize winner for Literature for his play Grit. Poet, playwright, writer, scholar, he holds a Ph.D. in English Literature. Gomba’s poems have been published in various journals. ANA Poetry Prize winner (2015) and Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry (2016).

• PEACE AKUBO – a UK-based author of several international peer-reviewed journals and books. She is a writer/poet who authored Perspective, Angels in Classroom, Poems to Inspire You, Growth Through Life’s Journey, No Time for Later, and the Goal Setter Workbook for young adults and professionals.

• TUNDE LAWAL-SOLARIN – Director of Lantern Books, Literamed Publications, and founder of the Book Swap Foundation. He is an award-winning writer, trained in filmmaking, web design, graphic design, and 3D animation. His language has been cultured through poetry, literature, and languages. His vision is to take learning into the future.

• CHARLES AKWEN – a poet, playwright, performer, photo(bio)grapher, literary/cultural critic, and lawyer, is the author of several books, among which are On this Land: Tattoos of Bulletholes (Poetry) and Across the Strait (Play). He is the founder of Transcultural Writers’ Network and African Association of Taiwan Studies. He currently lectures in the Department of English, University of Lagos, Akoka, Nigeria.

• KUNLE OKESIPE – Poet and prize-winning playwright. His poems have been published in acclaimed journals. Currently lectures on English Literature at Igbinedion University, Okada, Nigeria.

Submissions:-

Teambooktu received over 250 entries from 7 different African countries. After the usual checks, we arrived at a broad list of 60 poems then halved the number to determine the long list. A short-list of 10 poems was eventually released.

Final Results:-

• Chronicle of Missing Things (Adesiyan Oluwapelumi) 1ST PRIZE WINNER
• Homecoming (Mahbubat Salahudeen) 2ND
• An Ode to My Soul (Lilian Waithaka) 3RD
• Africa Unveiled (Aiah Gbakima) 4TH
• Anatomy of Death and Grief (Ruby Ann Akonugah) 5TH
• I AM (Stephanie Orukpe)
• Inferno (David Agyei-Yeboah)
• Here, Waiting for Nothingness (Favour Orlando)
• A World I can Call Mine (Muheez Olawale)
• Now Ponderers (Rebecca Ogunnaike)

All poems on the long list are published in our Poetry section.

This is such great news. Thank you so much for the honour. I am incredibly grateful and honoured. – Adesiyan Oluwapelumi (winner)

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WEBCONNOISEUR CHALLENGE

Held May – June 2024

To mark our first anniversary (June 5th), we promoted a Webconnoiseur Challenge as part of thanking all webcitizens for their dedication and support to the site and the arts. We offered a cash award and a Teambooktu Webconnoisseur t-shirt for the reader with the most consistent and engaging comments on the website.

Winner

• The prize went to Ekpensi Nwajesu- Webconnoisseur for Poetry

I’m so elated to be selected as your Web-Connoisseur for Poetry. Thank you so much for what you do. Thank you so much for all you represent, for being a home to young voices. This honour means a lot to me. I look forward to reading more wonderful works on your website, to promoting your works, and I will see to it that I invite my friends to do the same. Thank you.– Ekpenisi Nwajesu (winner)

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KENE OFFOR-TEAMBOOKTU FLASH FICTION CHALLENGE #1

Held from December 2024 to February 2025

In our annual collaboration with a US-based art-enthusiast, Kenechuckwu Offor, we hosted the 2nd Kene Offor-Teambooktu Challenge. This time it was a Flash Fiction Challenge with a total cash prize of $175 ($100 winner, $50 runner-up, $25 third place) and branded T-shirts for all shortlisters. Sponsor was kind enough to donate another $25 each for our first two Webmasters*. They also got branded T-shirts.

Our Guest Judges:-

• TUNDE LAWAL-SOLARIN – Director of Lantern Books, Literamed Publications and founder of the Book Swap Foundation. He is an award-winning writer, trained in filmmaking, web design, graphic design, and 3D animation. His language has been cultured through poetry, literature, and languages. His vision is to take learning into the future.

• CHARLES OPARA is an IT programmer, short story writer and speculative fiction novelist who enjoys the flow involved in creating both programs and stories. In 2015, his horror short “It Happened” was shortlisted for the Awele Creative Trust Prize and in 2017, another story ‘Baby-girl’ was long-listed for the Quramo National Prize in his country. His short stories have been published in magazines such as Flash Fiction Press, Zoetic Press, and Ambit Magazine. His collection of short stories, How Hamisu Survived Bad Kidneys and a Bad Son-in-law, is published by Fomite Press.

• NDIDI CHIAZOR-ENENMOR is a versatile and prolific writer. Winner of ANA Prose Prize in 2022. Her book, A Father’s Pride, made the shortlist of 3 in The Nigeria Prize for Literature 2024. She has also written plays and biographies. Her best-selling teen fiction, A Hero’s Welcome, made the first shortlist of the Nigeria Prize for Literature, 2019. Her earlier book, One Little Mosquito, published in 2008 won the Association of Nigeria Authors Prize for Children’s Literature, in 2009.

Submissions:-

Teambooktu received 93 entries from different African countries. After the usual checks, we arrived at a long list of 10 stories, then a short-list of 4. Coincidentally, like the inaugural Short Story Challenge, all Flash Fiction short-listers are ladies too!

Final Results:-

• DYING TO LIVE (Sandra Chimezie) 1ST PRIZE WINNER
• DUNNI’S SONG (Vanessa George) 2ND
• DEATH SENTENCE (Firdausi Babasalati) 3RD
• Ethel’s Four Deaths (Pamela Erhiakeme) 4TH

All long-listed stories and honorable mentions are published in our Short Stories section.

Thanks so much for the opportunity– Sandra Chimezie (winner)

I’m a young lawyer, a mum, an avid reader and a writer who loves telling stories… Writing and submitting it was an incredibly satisfying experience and I am honored to have made the long list. – Firdausi Babasalati

2025

PHOTO CHALLENGE #2 – FROZEN IN TIME

Held from July 1st 2025, to October 18th 2025

Our second Photo Challenge was a Frozen in Time photography competition! This challenge invites photographers to capture moments that beautifully depict the theme of freezing a moment in time.

Our Guest Judges:-

• PAUL BRUINS (returning judge from Nature Photochallenge)

• MATURE TANKO (returning judge from Nature Photochallenge)

• OMOYENI AJANAKU (returning judge from Nature Photochallenge)

• MARYANN ABOSHI runs Mimikreationz Studioz. She has active media experience and knowledge in photography.

• YEMI ROYAL is a multiple-award winning photographer. He has trained over 200 photographers across Nigeria.

Submissions:-

27 photos made the final cut, out of which a Short list of 6 was determined by our 5 experienced judges. The list is as follows :-

Final Results:-

• Catching Up with Time (Gil Dachomo) 1ST PRIZE WINNER
• Dear Nostalgia (Michael Adebiyi) 2ND
• A Father & Son’s Fishing Tale (Fawaz Opeyemi) 3RD
• Sometimes We Wish We Could Rewind Time (Joseph Adonis) 4TH
• A Leap Beyond Limits (Damilola Matthew Adekoya) 5TH (Webcitizens’ Choice Winner)
• Sunset Between the Shadows (Faith Bolutife) 6TH

Winning photos can be seen in the Photography section of our Visual Arts page.

 Thank you so much for the opportunity and the platform. – Gil Dachomo

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KAYODE ADERINOKUN (WRITTEN WORD) POETRY PRIZE – hosted by Teambooktu

Held from September 2025 to November 2025

Chief Kayode Aderinokun is a man of many caps and feathers, making his mark in banking, mining, manufacturing, politics, media & advertising, and the creative arts. In the latter industry, he is known as a poet, author of Inferno in the Rain (a collection of his poems), former chairman of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Lagos Chapter, and current chairman Board of Trustees for the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA). This year, he celebrated his 75th birthday. He decided to graciously sponsor the Kayode Aderinokun (Written) Poetry Prize on Teambooktu, in addition to the Spoken Word version, which is held every November at the Lagos Book & Arts Festival (LABAF), organized by CORA. KAPP on Teambooktu and at LABAF is targeted at discovering bright young talents (18 -35 years) in poetry. Cash prizes are $250 cash prize! (Winner) $150 (1st Runner-up) $100 (2nd Runner-up) and $50 (3rd Runner-up).

Our Guest Judges:-

• Vanessa Chisakula ‘VanVan’ is a hyphenated artist, an award-winning poet from Zambia, and creative activist who uses art as a tool for advocacy and social justice. She is the 2023 Africa podcast and Voice Rising Talent (Poetry) Award recipient and has been featured in the Guardian, BBC Focus on Africa, and Afro Women Poetry. Her chapbook ‘Africana’ celebrates African identity. Vanessa’s work appears in Women Scream Anthology, PePeta Africa’s digital booklet, and her acclaimed poem Her Place fiercely amplifies women’s rights across global platforms.

• Dr. Sinyuy Geraldine is a distinguished creative writer based in the North West Region of Cameroon. She holds a Ph.D. in Commonwealth Literature from the University of Yaoundé I. Her literary journey began in her teens, with her poems and folktales frequently featured on CRTV Bamenda’s “Literary Workshop: A Programme for Creative Writing and Literary Criticism.” She is a UNESCO-RIELA Affiliate artist, Cameroon Coordinator of the International Writers Association (July 2025-Present), a 2023 International Human Rights Arts Movement (IHRAM) fellow, Director of the International Human Rights Arts Movement, African Secretariate Cameroon (2024-present), advocate for organic gardening and proper waste management; a World Pulse Digital Ambassador and much more. She was chief judge for the Writing Ukraine International Poetry Competition in 2023; one of the judges for the 2023 Creative Writing Competition for Secondary Schools within the North West Region organized by the North West /West Branch of the Anglophone Cameroon Writers Association (ACWA) and in July 2025, she was nominated as one of the judges for the African Human Rights Inter-University Essay Competition in 2025. She served as a critical book review editor at Word City Literary Journal and is the founder of The Rising Sun Editing Company Ltd, established in 2022; editor for ASA (Journal of Education, Learning and Research) since 2024; Editorial Adviser, The Journal of Cameroonian and Nigerian Writers League (2025-). Her dedication to literature, social change, human rights activism and environmental advocacy underpins her raison d’etre. She is the author of Music in the Wood and Other Folktales, Agonies of the Displaced (2024), co-editor of Her Rights, Our Stories (2024); Poetry in Times of Conflict (2020) and contributing poet of A Poetry Anthology Dedicated to the Most Venerated African Patriarch His Excellency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for his Luminous Legacy of Peace, Patriotism, Diplomacy, Entrepreneurship and Humaness (2025), Love Letters to Water (2022). Her poems and academic papers appear on many platforms. She is a member of the Anglophone Cameroon Writers Association, Academia Edu, and Research Gate.

• Jackline Waziri– UK Based Writer & Poet From Tanzania. Born in Dar es Salaam, she is the daughter of Fauzia Waziri Juma, whose mother is Mwanjaa Shaaban Robert. Jackline is the great-granddaughter of the legendary Swahili poet Shaaban Bin Robert. Waziri was then moved to the United Kingdom, where she had a keen interest in Literature, creative writing and poetry. Waziri illustrates her truth and paints an art of her journey in the UK but her soul that was left behind in Tanzania, through her writing. Many know Waziri as a UK-based Poet and the Author of ‘Mwana’ poetry collection from Tanzania. She is also the Founder of ‘Mwana’ events, a platform that highlights and portrays artists and entrepreneurs from Africa based in London. It was established in 2020 and has worked closely in the local community, providing a focus for African culture, creativity and art through poetry and music – providing African entertainment events and most importantly a community. Waziri’s great passion is to bring healing, truth, light, awakening and unity to the African community but in particular the African children as she believes they are the future, who will lift up and rebuild Africa. Their motherland.

• Dr. Martin Egblewogbe is from Ghana and is the author of the collection of short stories, The Waiting (Lubin & Kleyner, 2020) and Mr Happy and The Hammer of God and other Stories (Ayebia, 2012). His writing has appeared in several collections, such as The Gonjon Pin (2014 Caine Prize anthology), PEN America’s Passages Africa (2015), All The Good Things Around Us (Ayebia, 2016),Litro #162: Literary Highlife (2017), Between The Generations (2020), Shimmering At Sunset (2021) and Voices That Sing Behind The Veil (2022). Martin was the commissioning editor for the anthology Resilience: A Collection (2021), and also co-edited the anthology of short stories, The Sea Has Drowned the Fish (2018) as well as the anthologies of poetry Look where you have gone to sit (Woeli, 2010) and According to Sources (Woeli, 2015). He is a co-founder and a director of the Writers Project of Ghana, and director of Pa Gya! A Literary Festival in Accra.

• Akeem Lasisi is a journalist, poet, and teacher who has been performing poetry within and outside Nigeria for over two decades. Famous for his ability to spontaneously deliver poems on various subjects, his craft mark is the ease with which he switches from Yoruba to English forms and vice versa. Two of his collections of poems, IREMOJE: Ritual Poetry for Ken Saro-Wiwa, and Night of my Flight, won the Association of Nigerian Authors/CADBURY Poetry Prize in 2000 and 2005, respectively. He is also the author of Right Option English (a textbook) and Goodness and Messi (a collection of jokes). Also, the publisher of Phenomenal.com.ng, Tutor for Phenomenal English and a columnist with THE PUNCH, Lasisi has earlier produced six musical poetry albums: Post Mortem, Ori Agbe, Wonderland (Eleleture), Udeme,  (Constituency Project),  Comforti. He has also produced poetic tributes to prominent people and institutions, a project that recently gave birth to his annual AFRICAN CITATIONS exhibition. Lasisi, who is also the Public Relations Officer of the First Technical University, Ibadan, co-authored (with Kabir Alabi Garba) Phenomenal Lagos, a textual, photographic, and poetic celebration of 50 monuments in Lagos State.

Submissions:-

We received over 370 entries in this Pan-African competition. The largest so far. Reviewed down to a broad list of 90, then a long list of 40. Finally, our Pan-African panel of judges whittled it down to a short list of 14.

Final Results:-

The Chicken Yard– Grant Cleopatra 1ST PRIZE WINNER

After the night of the massacre, tollgate 21st October 2020– Ridwan Fasasi (2ND PRIZE)

Babel–  Saheed Sunday (3RD PRIZE)

Caliban, after the sail – Abdul Awal Arikewusola (4TH PRIZE)

Atlas-  Joemario Umana 

Before I knew too much- Ghost Writerr (Promise Osekponole)

Bodies exiled – Gloria Ameh

Dedications- Chimezie Umeoka

Lone thread lost -Henrietta Lehi’owo

Mariposa- Yusuf Kareem

Not yet devoured- Alade Fikayo

The smallest mark that decides our exile as a cartography of breath- Yusuf Olumoh

Tremor- Sale Tamani

We have all lost our senses- Oshiokpekhai Aishat

Poems can be found in our Poetry section.

Thank you very much! Indeed, it is no mean feat and I am deeply grateful for this platform and the opportunity to share my art.- Grant Cleopatra

 

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*WHO IS A WEBMASTER?

*A Webmaster is the winner of a Teambooktu challenge.

*A Webmaster can also be a 2-time finalist (or lister) in any two Teambooktu Challenges. So far, we have 6 webmasters in this category:-

David Agyei-Yeboah (Ghana) – Short-listed in Kene Offor-Teambooktu Poetry Challenge and Long-listed in Kene Offor- Teambooktu Flash Fiction Challenge

Ruby-Ann Konugah (Nigeria)- Short-listed in Kene Offor-Teambooktu Poetry Challenge and Long-listed in Kene Offor- Teambooktu Flash Fiction Challenge

Damilola Matthew (Nigeria)- Short-listed in Nature Photochallenge #1 and Frozen in Time Photochallenge #2

Tamani Sale (Nigeria)- Short-listed in Kayode Aderinokun (Written) Poetry Challenge, hosted by Teambooktu, and Long-listed in Kene Offor- Teambooktu Poetry Challenge

Favour Orlando (Nigeria)-Long-listed in Kayode Aderinokun (Written) Poetry Challenge, hosted by Teambooktu, and Short-listed in Kene Offor-Teambooktu Poetry Challenge

Pamela Erhiakeme (Nigeria)- Short-listed in Teambooktu’s first Short Story Challenge and in Kene Offor-Teambooktu Flash Fiction Challenge

THINK YOU CAN BECOME A WEBMASTER?