The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) is a non-profit organization that promotes

Nigerian literature Nigerian literature may be roughly defined as the literary writing by citizens of the nation of Nigeria for Nigerian readers, addressing Nigerian issues. This encompasses writers in a number of languages, including not only English but Igbo, Urho ...

. It represents

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n creative writers at home and abroad. It was founded in 1981 by Nigerian novelist

Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature. His first novel and ''magnum opus'', ''Things Fall Apart'' (1958), occupies ...

as its president. The immediate past President is Alhaji Denja Abdullahi. And the incumbent president is Camilus Ukah and the Vice President is Hajiya Farida Mohammed.

Niger State Niger is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria and the largest state in the country. Niger state has three political zones, zone A,B and C. The state's capital is at Minna. Other major cities are Bida, Kontagora and Suleja. It was fo ...

Governor

Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu is a senior civil servant who was elected governor of Niger State, Nigeria in April 2007. He was reelected on 26 April 2011. In the March 2015 presidential and senate elections, Gov Aliyu failed in his senate race against ...

has been a supporter of the association. In January 2008, he said to a delegation from the Association of Nigerian Authors, Niger State, "I think Niger State will be the most published state in 2008. We want to publish you; we shall publish you..." The state was to publish at least twenty titles in 2008 alone. Speaking in October 2009 at a convention of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Aliyu said that over 90 percent of Nigerian politicians have criminal intentions, spending huge amounts to gain office for their own benefit rather than to serve the public.

History

The organization was founded on June 27, 1981; 10 years after the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

at a conference at the

University of Nigeria The University of Nigeria, commonly referred to as UNN, is a federal university located in Nsukka, Enugu State, Eastern part of Nigeria. Founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1955 and formally opened on 7 October 1960, the University of Nigeria has thr ...

Nsukka Nsukka is a town and a Local Government Area in Enugu State, Nigeria. Nsukka shares a common border as a town with Edem, Opi (archaeological site), Ede-Oballa, and Obimo. The postal code of the area is 410001 and 410002 respectively referr ...

. The conference was attended by two Keyan writers

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (; born James Ngugi; 5 January 1938) is a Literature of Kenya, Kenyan author and academic who writes primarily in Gikuyu language, Gikuyu and who formerly wrote in English language, English. He has been described as having bee ...

and Gacheche Wauringi. Afterwards, it was registered by the

Corporate Affairs Commission Corporate Affairs Commission is a body of the Nigerian Government responsible for the regulation and management of companies in Nigeria. It was introduced in 1990 with the passing of the Companies and Allied Matters Act. It is headed by a chairman a ...

in accordance with the now 1990 vide Companies and Allied Matters Act no 1. Its founding members include

Kole Omotoso Bankole Ajibabi Omotoso (born 21 April 1943), also known as Kole Omotoso, is a Nigerian writer and intellectual best known for his works of fiction and in South Africa as the "Yebo Gogo man" in adverts for the telecommunications company Vodacom ...

Mabel Segun Mabel Segun, NNOM (born 1930) is a Nigerian poet, playwright and writer of short stories and children's books. She has also been a teacher, broadcaster, and a sports woman. Biography Born in Ondo City, Nigeria, she had her secondary school ed ...

Ernest Emenyonu Chief Sir Ernest Emenyonu is a Nigerian academic, who is an African literature critic and professor. He was formerly head of the department of English and Literary Studies, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Universit ...

, Labo Yari,

Femi Osofisan Babafemi Adeyemi Osofisan (born June 16, 1946), known as Femi Osofisan or F.O., is a Nigerian writer noted for his critique of societal problems and his use of African traditional performances and surrealism in some of his plays. A frequent theme ...

, JP Clark,

Niyi Osundare Niyi Osundare is a leading African poet, dramatist, linguist, and literary critic. Born on March 12, 1947, in Ikere-Ekiti, Nigeria, his poetry is influenced by the oral poetry of his Yoruba culture, which he capaciously hybridizes with other poetic ...

, Jerry Agada and T. M. Aluko.

Prizes it has sponsored

In 2004 it awarded the following prizes: * ANA/

Atiku Abubakar Atiku is a given name and surname. It may refer to: Given name *Atiku Abubakar (born 1946), Nigerian politician and businessman, Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 *Atikur Rahman Mallik, Bangladeshi film editor Middle name *Abubakar Atiku ...

Prize for Children Literature — Sola Alamutu and Dawodu Peju: ''Cate Saves the Ikopi Rainforest'' (winner); Lawal–Solarin, ''Tunde: Lanre and the Queen of the Stream''; Olajire Olanlokun: ''Children Poetry for Pleasure''. * ANA/NDDC Drama Prize (In honour of J. P. Clark) — Yahaya Dangana: ''The Royal Chambers'' (winner); Chetachukwu Isaacs-Iroegbu: ''Ezewanyi''; Leke Ogunfeyimi: ''Sacrifice the King''. * ANA/NDDC Prize (In honour of

Gabriel Okara Gabriel Imomotimi Okara (24 April 1921 – 25 March 2019) was a Nigerian poet and novelist who was born in Bumoundi in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The first modernist poet of Anglophone Africa, he is best known for his early experimental ...

) — Ohaeto Ezenwa: ''Chants of a Minstrel'' (winner); Emeka Agbayi: ''Stars Die''; Segun Akinlolu: ''King’s Messenger''. * ANA/NDDC Prose Prize (In memory of

Ken Saro-Wiwa Kenule Beeson "Ken" Saro-Wiwa (10 October 1941 – 10 November 1995) was a Nigerian writer, television producer, and environmental activist. Ken Saro-Wiwa was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority in Nigeria whose homeland, Ogonilan ...

) — Arthur-Worey: ''Fola: The Diaries of Mr Michael'' (winner); Philip Begho: ''Jelly Baby''; Brisibe-Dorgu: ''Gesiere: Love So Pure''. * ANA/Spectrum Prize — Tayo Olafioye: ''Tomorrow Left Us Yesterday'' (winner); Ifeoma Chinwuba: ''Merchants of Flesh''; Toni Kan: ''Ballads of Rage''. * ANA/Cadbury Prize — Simbo Olorunfemi: ''Eko Ree'' (winner); Nnadi Amu: ''Pilgrim’s Passage''; Joe Ushie: ''Hill Songs''. * ANA/NDDC

Flora Nwapa Florence Nwanzuruahu Nkiru Nwapa (13 January 1931 – 16 October 1993), was a Nigerian author who has been called the mother of modern African literature, African Literature. She was the forerunner to a generation of African women writers, and ...

Prize for Women Writing — Njere Chydy: ''Ordinary Women''. (The judges noted that there was no superlative submission for the category, hence, no entry is worthy of mention.) * ANA Literary Journalist, 2004 — Ohai Chuks ('' Daily Independent'', winner); Sumaila Umaisha (''New Nigerian'', winner).

References

External links

ANA official site

ANA Official Listserve
a forum for the discussion of Authorship in Nigeria {{DEFAULTSORT:Association Of Nigerian Authors Organizations established in 1981