LIST OF SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES
The 1st Edition of Senator Sani Musa (313) Teen and Young Authors Publishing Scheme has been completed, with the selection of young authors to be published. Only 20 manuscripts will make the final list for publication.
The first stage comprises submissions by teen and young authors from the nine (9) Local Government Areas of the Niger East Senatorial District of Niger State. They are: Chanchaga, Munya, Shiroro, Rafi, Bosso, Paikoro, Gurara, Suleja, and Tafa. A total of 36 entries were received, with over fifteen coming from Chanchaga, followed by Shiroro, Tafa, and so on.
The second stage saw the selection of qualifying manuscripts by a team of editors from Hill-Top Creative Arts Foundation (HCAF), where a total of 26 manuscripts were selected: the first 20 as qualifiers, while 6 were placed on the reserve list. The lists are attached below. If the Senator wishes to include the reserve list, that would be great. If not, it is also great; the reserve list would have to wait for the next edition in 2027.
Similarly, the first stage of editing has been completed as well. The manuscripts have been typeset, the cover illustrations done, story books also have about six illustrations each in the books. The poetry books have no illustrations.
The illustrator of the books is Mallam Awwal Abdullahi Sakiwa. The list of editors are: Ojo Olumide Emmanuel – Editor-in-Chief (HCAF Niger); Fati Salihu (HCAF Niger); Blessing Omeiza (HCAF Abuja); Aliyu Umar Muhammad (HCAF Niger); Abubakar Auwal (HCAF Niger); Daniel Aondona (HCAF Benue); Emmanuel Umeji (HCAF Niger); Pacella Chukwuma Eke (HCAF Abuja); Odu Ode (HCAF Nasarawa); AbdulRazaq Salihu (HCAF Niger); Sheikh Umar Dada Paiko (Poet, writer and Cleric). The Chief facilitator is Makama Shekwoaga; Abel Onaforume is the logistics officer, while BM Dzukogi oversees the scheme. The initiator and sponsor is Senator Mohammed Sani Musa (313), the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, and Senator representing the Niger East Senatorial District of Niger State.
Both the qualifiers and the reserve list are expected to be in Minna (Hill-Top Creative Arts Foundation Headquarters, along David Mark Road, after El-Amin International School) from 12th to 15th November, 2026, for the final vetting and approval of the dummies by the authors and their parents, who will enter into an undertaking with HCAF. Issues of copyright would be discussed too.
In a short word of gratitude to the Senator on behalf of Nigerian writers, BM Dzukogi, a former National Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Authors, the pioneer Director-General of the Niger State Book Development Agency, and the founder of the Hill-Top Creative Arts Foundation, expressed his immense appreciation to the Senator for including young authors in his numerous, immeasurable empowerment programmes in Niger State. He said: “Adding 20 or 26 young published authors to the tribe of Nigerian writers, in a single year, is an unmatched feat unheard of in Africa. This further solidifies the reach of Niger State as the epicentre of teen authorship in Africa, and the nucleus is Minna, in Niger-East Senatorial District.
All the published books and the new authors would be presented to the public at a grand occasion in December, 2026. In sha Allah. All the 500 copies printed for each book will be donated to the author.
