Punocracy receives entries for maiden Prize for Satire

Organisers of the 2019 Punocracy Prize for Satire have confirmed on Thursday that they received numerous entries for the first-of-its-kind writing competition.

In a press statement sent to this paper and signed by the team lead, the Punocracy crew said their records show that 171 applications were made for the prize. “But this includes entries that were sent multiple times,” the statement added for clarity.

“We are thrilled so many young Nigerians made the decision to throw their hats in,” the group said.

“It is not a coincidence that the word ‘satire’ sounds very much like ‘esoteric’. That is because not many people understand it, and not all who understand it are in fact capable of writing it well.

“But here we have about one hundred and seventy one young persons chanting ‘yes we can!’. It is truly no mean feat. By the way, 126 of them are male, 44 are female, while one person preferred not to disclose his or her (or their) gender.”

The crew said, with the enthusiasm shown by the entrants, they look forward to discovering new talents, triggering new exploits, and shaking the socio-political tables in Nigeria using fresh narrative techniques.

They further urged the entrants to follow the platform on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and also join the ‘mailing list’ on WhatsApp so as not to miss updates as soon as they are released.

The press statement mentioned that a shortlist of the best entries will be announced sometime in September, after which the three top satirists will be declared and awarded.

“May the best (wo)men win!” the release concluded.