SNIPPETS (52)- BY SUMAILA UMAISHA

_From my chats with writers_

Winning a prize challenges the writer to be more serious. It makes the writer more marketable by bringing him to public notice, so it beholds on him not to disappoint his fans. I've won a number of prizes. For instance, my play, _Waiting for Savon_, won the Esiaba Irobi Prize. I came third in a CHD/Ford Foundation Prize for short story. My unpublished play, _A Requiem for the Misbegotten_ came second in AWS/Zulu Sofola Award for drama. My adaptation of Wole Soyinka’s novel, _The Interpreters_, under the title, _The Misfit_, came third in an adaptation competition by ANA. Also my adaptation of Achebe’s _Arrow of God_, under the title _Ezeulu_, came first, in an adaptation competition by ANA. The secret behind this success is focus. I have great partiality for playwright; I don’t want to be a Jack of all trade. If I go to a bookshop, my first interest is drama. That is why most of my dramatic works win awards.

© ISAAC OGEZI