On the 10th of October 2025, Oyin Olugbile, for her book SANYA, was announced as the winner of the Nigerian Prize for Literature, receiving the $100,000 grand prize. 

Sanya was selected from a competitive longlist featuring ten other outstanding books, including An Unusual Grief by Yewande Omotoso, Fine Dreams by Linda Masi, Leave My Bones in Saskatoon by Michael Afenfia, New York, My Village by Uwem Akpan, PETRICHOR and The Scent of a New Beginning by Ayo Oyeku, The Middle Daughter by Chika Unigwe, The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma, This Motherless Land by Nikki May, Water Baby by Chioma Okereke, and When We Were Fireflies by Abubakar Ibrahim.

Read Our Review of This Motherless Land by Nikki May

The board chairman, Professor Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, stated that;

“Each work distinguishes itself through masterful plotting, characterisation, and a good command of language that transports readers into imagined worlds. These are not merely stories; they are carefully woven realities.

They are compelling in their beauty, stirring in their emotional resonance, and unflinching in their engagement with familiar yet urgent societal issues. The way the writers handled and resolved conflict highlights their skill and literary standing.”

About the 2025 NLNG Winner SANYA by Oyin Olugbile

Published in 2022 by Masobe Books, Sanya is Oyin Olugbile’s debut novel, which creatively tells the tale of the Yoruba deity Sango as a woman. 

Sànyà always felt different. And everyone that knew her—the people in the village she grew up in, her beloved brother, Dada, her Aunt Abike, and even her parents before she was born—knew that there was something special about her, too. After an unspeakable tragedy causes her to leave home and grow up too soon, she is devastated to find that her incredible powers are linked to a future which she must fight, even at the cost of her very soul. She begins life anew, hoping that the dark prophesy would somehow rewrite itself. Soon, however, her carefully crafted life and identity becomes the catalyst for a deadly war that will tear her family apart, and doom everything she holds dear.

Oyin Olugbile’s masterful debut tells the story of dangerous love—lost, found, and lost again—all against the backdrop of a fantastical, enthralling empire that holds even the Òrìsà themselves spellbound.

Get your copy of Sanya Here

About the Nigeria Prize for Literature

Founded in 2004, the Nigeria Prize for Literature aims to bring Nigerian authors to public attention and celebrate literary craftsmanship in the nation. It is one of the 10 richest and most prestigious literary prizes in the world. The award rotates among four genres — fiction, poetry, drama, and children’s literature — every four years, with a total prize value of US$100,000 to an individual winner.

Past Winners Include:

• 2024: Olubunmi Familoni — The Road Does Not End (Children’s Literature)

• 2023: Obari Gomba — Grit (Drama)

• 2022: Romeo Oriogun — Nomad (Poetry)

• 2021: Cheluchi Onyemelukwe — The Son of the House (Prose)

• 2019: Jude Idada — Boom Boom (Children’s Literature)

• 2018: Soji Cole — Embers (Drama)

• 2017: Ikeogu Oke — The Heresiad (Poetry)

• 2016: Abubakar Adam Ibrahim — Season of Crimson Blossoms (Prose)

• 2015: No winner (Children’s Literature)

• 2014: Sam Ukala — Iredi War (Drama)

• 2013: Tade Ipadeola — The Sahara Testaments (Poetry)

• 2012: Chika Unigwe — On Black Sisters Street (Prose)

• 2011: Adeleke Adeyemi — The Missing Clock (Children’s Literature)

• 2010: Esiaba Irobi — Cemetery Road (Drama)

• 2009: No winner (Poetry)

• 2008: Kaine Agary — Yellow Yellow (Prose)

• 2007: Mabel Segun & Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo — Readers’ Theatre: Twelve Plays for Young People and My Cousin Sammy (Children’s Literature, joint winners)

• 2006: Ahmed Yerima — Hard Ground (Drama)

• 2005: Gabriel Okara & Ezenwa Ohaeto — The Dreamer: His Vision and Chants of a Minstrel (Poetry, joint winners)

Congratulations to Oyin Olugbile.

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