‘Four Months’ Earns Agbede Top Prize At 2026 Quramo Writers Competition
Agbede Takes Top Prize
OOREOLUWA O. Agbede has won the 2026 Quramo Writers Prize with his manuscript, Four Months, emerging ahead of more than 20 shortlisted writers in the literary competition.
The award was announced on October 2 during the 10th edition of QFest 2026.
Agbede’s winning entry earned him a ₦2 million cash prize and a publishing deal, making the award a significant milestone in his writing career.
Judges Praise Quality of Entries
Lead judge Ugonma Nduka-Nwosu praised the quality of the submissions, saying the shortlisted writers demonstrated strong powers of observation and an ability to transform everyday experiences into engaging stories.
She said the entries compelled the judges to read and reread them, while several manuscripts created suspense and sustained curiosity about what would happen next.
Nduka-Nwosu, who served as a judge for the prize for the first time, said the competition exposed the breadth of contemporary Nigerian storytelling.
The submissions covered different themes, including romance, culture and human-interest experiences.
Consequently, she said the judges had to approach the manuscripts with open minds and avoid allowing their individual literary preferences to determine their assessments.
QWP Creates Space for New Writers
QFest Convener Gbemi Shasore described the Quramo Writers Prize as one of the festival’s most important platforms because it gives unpublished writers an opportunity to develop and present their stories.
She said the initiative allows writers to bring their experiences and traditions to wider audiences.
Beyond the competition itself, Shasore noted that Quramo continues to revisit longlisted and shortlisted manuscripts to identify works with publishing potential.
The approach, she explained, gives writers opportunities that can extend beyond the immediate outcome of the annual competition.
Prize Marks Growing Literary Opportunity
The 2026 edition also marked an important anniversary for the competition.
To commemorate the occasion, organisers increased the winner’s prize to ₦2 million and introduced additional rewards for the second- and third-place writers.
The expanded prize package further positions the competition as a platform for discovering and supporting emerging literary voices.
For writers who do not win, however, Nduka-Nwosu urged them to continue developing their craft.
She reminded the shortlisted writers that failing to win the top prize did not define their literary future.
‘Four Months’ Draws From Working Life
For Agbede, the victory followed several years of engagement with the competition.
He was previously longlisted for the Quramo Writers Prize in 2022 with another manuscript.
His latest winning work also draws from experiences connected to working life.
Agbede said the pressures of combining creative writing with a regular nine-to-five job influenced Four Months and helped shape its central character.
He described the struggle of finding time to write while managing professional responsibilities, noting that his own experiences contributed to the character’s development.
A New Milestone
Agbede expressed appreciation to Quramo, the judges and the other shortlisted writers following the announcement.
He also congratulated his fellow competitors and expressed hope that their writing journeys would continue to flourish.
His victory now gives Four Months a publishing pathway while placing Agbede among the emerging writers gaining visibility through Nigeria’s competitive literary landscape.
For Quramo, meanwhile, the 2026 prize reinforces its stated commitment to discovering unpublished writers and creating opportunities for new stories to reach readers.
