“The purpose of satire has been rightly stated as to strip off the veneer of comforting illusion and cosy half-truth, and our job, as I see it, is to put it back again!” —
Lyricist, actor and singer Michael Flanders
Great news! We are currently accepting submissions for the prize.
Punocracy was founded in March 2018 as a safe space for funny people who are socially or politically conscious and happen to know how to write. Our objective is to make satire a widely accepted and understood tool of socio-political commentary in the country and to kindle interest in the genre. We have been in that business since March 2018.
In further advancing these goals, we are seeking entries for the fourth edition of the Prize for Satire competition. We believe other forms of writing, from poetry to non-fiction, have received significant attention, and it is high time we equally spotlighted the significance of satirising in opinion-shaping and nation-building. There is hardly a better way to do this than through a healthy rivalry.
All longlisted submissions will be published on the Punocracy website and winners will subsequently be announced before the end of the year.
Judges are looking for great works of satire, and by definition, this includes articles that creatively deploy wit, irony, sarcasm, and/or ridicule in criticising faults. Entries may take the shape of prose, drama, news, poetry, a speech, a bill, a letter, a manual, a prophecy, an essay, an advert, or even quasi-scriptural passages. Whatever works for you really. There are also no restrictions on topics, but we encourage you to approach the selected topic in a way that makes the work relevant for an extended period.
Eligibility
Applicants should be Nigerians aged between 15 and 30 years as of December 2026.
Only one entry is allowed per person.
Also, the entry must:
— Be written in English and saved in a .doc format.
— Be anything between 500 and 2000 words.
— Not be jointly authored.
— Not have been previously published.
— Not be plagiarised in part or in whole (there’s nothing funny about intellectual theft).
— Not have been generated using a large language model (machines are not eligible for the prize yet; we’ll see what we can do next year).
— Most importantly, be satirical.
Prizes
First prize: ₦350,000
Second prize: ₦200,000
Third prize: ₦150,000
In addition, everyone gets certificates and loads of bragging rights.
Deadline
11:59 pm (WAT), Saturday, October 31, 2026.
Application
Please visit this Google Form to apply for the competition.
Have questions? Shoot us an email at hello@punocracy.com. Also, feel free to email us (with proof of relevant experience) if you would like to volunteer your skills by serving as a judge or if you like what we do and would like to support us in some other way.
