Widely relatable stories from ordinary individual experiences
PJ2024
Meet the winners of The Poetry Journal Prize 2025
Obasi Nancy is a writer from Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Her work often explores the everyday experiences of young women.
Read his winning poem: Her Father’s Daughter
Zainab Kuyizhi is a Nigerian poet and spoken word artist. Her work explores themes of love, pain, and anger, and has appeared in House of Poetry, The Muse Journal No. 50, Tower Magazine Vol. 1, Tilted House Review (Issue 5, Spring 2022), The Ayanfe Magazine, Harpy Hybrid Review, ThatOneBlackBoyReview, and elsewhere. She is a member of the Minna Literary Society, co-founder of Minna Paint & Sip, and founder of Tea and Reflection, a mental health support initiative in northern Nigeria.
Read his winning poem: Hide and Seek
Leka Lebari is a Christian and a writer with a messed-up circadian rhythm. She blames chunky books, late-night singing, and cooking like a cozy grandma that keep her up past reason. A proud Ogoni/Ijaw Nigerian and law graduate of Benson Idahosa University, she’s a hermit who only leaves the house for emergencies.
Read her winning poem: Rhino and the Bee
Book Review
Face Me I Face You
Oyindamola Shoola
“…some of the poems use humour like a mask, reminiscent of the biblical story where Jacob disguised himself as Esau to steal his brother’s birth right….there is a seemingly consistent and delicate balancing act between humour and societal critique… leaving readers to wonder: is she criticising the burden of these traditions, or highlighting the good intentions behind them?”
