By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Registration for the creative writing competition organised by Fidelity Bank Plc for secondary school students dubbed Read2Lead initiative is expected to close on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, Business Post reports.
The financial institution instituted the contest to promote young writers nationwide as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Intending participants can register for the programme through www.fidelitybank.ng/readtolead.
The three-stage competition will see secondary school students hone their reading and writing skills with the chance to win millions of naira in cash rewards, a book publishing deal, and the chance to have their school library renovated by the bank.
At the end of the 3-stage competition, the star prize winner would go home with N2 million cash, a book publishing deal worth N2 million and another N2 million to upgrade his/her school’s library; the first runner-up will receive a N1.5 million cash prize; and the second runner-up will be awarded N1 million.
The first stage of the Read2Lead initiative tagged The National Writing Showdown will see participants from across Nigeria compete for a coveted spot among the top 150 writers through a creative writing task.
Successful students would thereafter move to the second stage known as The Sweeta Writing Mastery, where they would be tasked with writing an alternate ending for one of the selected books they would be asked to read.
In the third and final stage themed The Author’s Workshop, the top 30 participants will participate in an immersive writing boot camp which will be anchored by experienced writers and facilitators who will also select the top three finalists.
