Further Writing Competition July 2011

I was searching on google for writing contests this July and stumbled upon this. Hope you might be interested.
If you are a writer who has written a novel opening anytime before 31st July 2011, The Next Big Author Competition and associated site youwriteon.com are running another initiative for novel writers in July 2011 with feedback from Random House and Orion, the publishers of Dan Brown and Terry Pratchett. The Top Ten highest rated authors of opening chapters between 5,000 to 7,000 words - written prior to 31st July 2011 - will be read by and receive feedback from Random House and Orion. Both publishers have been participating on youwriteon.com for several years. See the competition rules for this further competition on the website:
http://www.thenextbigauthor.com/Information/Further-Writing-Competition-July-2011.aspx

Nominees for the Nigerian blog awards 2011

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Reflecting on the nominees, several questions came to my mind.
What are the criteria for choosing nominees and winners?
Does a popular blog necessarily mean a good blog?
Is blogging really about the number of followers or the number of comments?
Is interaction with other blogs a sign of a good blog?
How then do you know a good blog?

Personally i feel blogging is all about expressing yourself in a particular way on a particular subject. It may be literature, fashion, entertainment or even crime. Yet I wouldn't look at a blog twice if it doesn't have posts on a topic I am interested in and yet some blogs post on topics that are not common. This, I believe, is why we have categories. On checking some of the blogs I realized some barely have up to 50 followers while I know of blogs with up to 500 followers that are not nominated in the same category.
Whichever blog wins in the various categories, I believe it does because it was known and acknowledged by the organizers and not necessarily by you and I. So if you check through the list and you don't find your blog or your favorite blog, don't fret, take solace in these words.

The nominees:

Best Beauty Blog
Bella Naija
Bob-ij
Delicious in Pink
Pwetty Bambi
YNC Chill Lounge

Best Daily Read
Bella Naija
KTravula
Linda Ikeji
Naked Sha
Verastically Livin’

Best Designed Blog
Bella Naija
Bumight
Ego Du Jour
Light Her Lamp (Jaycee)
Missy Xclusive (Grown & Sexy)

Best Entertainment Blog
100% Naija
Bella Naija
Linda Ikeji
Olamild Entertainment
People in the Limelight

Best Fashion or Style Blog
Africana Wardrobe Diary
Bella Naija
One Nigerian Boy
Shop Liquorice
The Culture Cynic

Best Food Blog
Alhaji’s Cuisine
Avartsy Kitchen
Food Matters by Yemisi Ogbe (234 Next)
My Kitchen (Ms. O)
Spice Baby

Best Group or Collaborative Blog
Blog(s)ville Gist
In My Dreams It Was Simpler
Myne Whitman Writes
Naija Stories
Nigerians Talk

Best Health or Fitness Blog
African Weight Loss Diva
Kimekwu

Best Music Blog
Diary of an Unpaid Intern (Neefemi)
Gidi Lounge
Nigerian Music Movement
Not Just Ok
Taynement

Best New Blog
9ja Boy Blog
360 Nobs
Cupids’ Gift Consulting
Ego Du Jour
KTravula

Best News or Magazine Blog
234 Next
Bella Naija
Linda Ikeji
Mimi Magazine
Nigerian Curiosity

Best Parenting Blog
Aloted
Andrea
Flourishing Florida
His Treasure (A Fabulous Mother’s World)
It Was So Much Easier When I Only Had One (Solomon Sydelle)

Best Personal Blog
Funms-The Rebirth
GeeBee’s Trip
Good Naija Girl
KTravula
Sting

Best Personal Development Blog
Femme Lounge
Good Naija Girl
Le Dynamique Professeur
Light Her Lamp (Jaycee)
YNC Chill Lounge

Best Photography Blog
Bedazzled Photography
Dotun’s Blog
KTravula
Onada Photography
Tunji Sarumi

Best Poetry Blog
Blogoratti
KTravula
Poetic Ideas
Seye Kuyinu
The Talkaholic (Harry)

Best Political Blog
Black Looks (Sokari Ekine)
Chxta’s World
Little Thoughts
Nigerian Curiosity
Nigerians Talk

Best Religion Blog
A Day in God’s Will (Remi)
Jolly Notes
Light Her Lamp (Jaycee)
Rita
Zoe Believer

Best Science or Technology Blog
Loy Okezie
Naija Web Geek
Seye Kuyinu
Timbuktu Chronicles
Tomi Davies

Best Student Blog
Bumight
KTravula
Leggy
Memoirs of a Nigerian Living Abroad
The Talkaholic (Harry)

Best Travel Blog
Jide Salu Diary
KTravula
Lola Akinmade
Naija Blog

Best Use of Media, including Social Media
Bumight
KTravula
Light Her Lamp (Jaycee)
Myne Whitman Writes
Verastically Livin’

Best Use of Theme
Black Looks (Sokari Ekine)
Cupid’s Gift
KTravula
Standtall
We Are Jos

Best Writing or Book blog
Bookaholic
In My Dreams It Was Simpler
Myne Whitman Writes
Nnedi Okorafor
Nzesylva

Most Controversial Blog
Afrobabe
Jaguda
Sugabelly
Sugarking
Truth Don Die

Most Humourous Blog
BSNC
Nice Anon
Original Mgbeke
Sugarking
Verastically Livin’

Most Inspiring Blog
Aloted
Jolly Notes
Le Dynamique Professeur
Light Her Lamp (Jaycee)
The Talkaholic (Harry)

Most Intellectual Blog
Aloofaa
Bagucci
Doug
KTravula
Rethots

Most Unique Voice
Bagucci
Lola Akinmade
Naked Sha
Rethots
Verastically Livin’

Nigerian Blog of the Year
Bedazzled Photography
Bella Naija
Femme Lounge
In My Dreams It Was Simpler
KTravula
Myne Whitman Writes
Nigerian Curiosity
The Talkaholic (Harry)
Tunji Sarumi
Verastically Livin’

Nominees extracted from http://nigerianblogawards.com/group-a-categories/presenting-the-group-a-category-nominees/

Sefi Attah's "Everything good will come"

Seffi Attah

I finished reading Seffi Atta's "Everything good will come" last week. It's a poignantly illustrative tale of the Nigerian middle class; the ones in Lagos. Good story, beautifully written and simple in style. i also like the innocent perspective and the intense optimism towards feminism which I find amusing. Kudos to Attah for making making a simple biography seem like an epic tale. I must confess i enjoyed it. No wonder it won the Wole Soyinka prize for prose. This is one of those things that make me wonder why more Nigerians are doing well in creative writing abroad while many are struggling to get published in the country. Seffi Attah lives in the United states with her husband. The book was published by Farafina books, who also publish Chimamanda Adichie in Nigeria.

Farafina Literary Workshop ends with a night of thrills

The 2011 Farafina Trust Literary workshop finally wraps up with a public event at the Eko hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. the event, hosted by popular writer, Chimamanda Adichie and sponsored by Nigerian Breweries had Binyavanga Wainana, Nathan Englander, Doreen Baingana, and Jackie Kay as facilitators.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/ArtsandCulture/Books/5464754-147/story.csp

Maiden literary cafe program holds in Akure

The maiden edition of the Literary cafe event hit the sunshine city, Akure on the 21st of June with Geraldine Iheme of Big brother Africa Revolution as the guest writer. It was an evening of fun and intellectual interaction at the cozy Golden crown restaurant in Akure. Geraldine read from her book; disfigured emotions, which was released last year to the admiration of the youthful audience. There was also a literary forum on creative writing and writers in Nigeria and a keynote speech delivered by the coordinator of the pan-African youth organization, Africa unbound in Nigeria; Afere Lawrence.

Literary cafe is hosted by Peter Sunday and Tope Apoola, who is the author of 'Times of the Supermen'