Nigerian Playwright Wins £37,092 UEA Scholarship

Nigerian playwright and filmmaker, Ayọ̀dẹ́jì Àjàdí, has won the £37,092 Kowitz Scholarship to study Creative Writing: Scriptwriting at the University of East Anglia, United Kingdom.

The scholarship, according to a statement he issued on Monday, will support his postgraduate studies at the university, which is renowned for its creative writing programme and has produced several internationally acclaimed writers, including Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McEwan, Anne Enright, John Boyne and Nigerian author Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀.

Àjàdí won the scholarship with his play, Sons of Anan, which draws on African mythology and tradition to examine the tensions between inherited beliefs and contemporary realities.

The play explores themes including power, gender and the forces that shape human relationships. It was previously staged at the Muson Centre in Lagos.

Speaking on the award, Àjàdí described the scholarship as an affirmation of the stories he seeks to tell and the perspectives from which he tells them.

He said the opportunity would enable him to deepen his craft while continuing to explore the stories, histories and contradictions that inform his work.

Àjàdí said, “The scholarship is an affirmation of the stories I want to tell and the perspectives from which I want to tell them.

“For a writer whose work engages with African experiences, the opportunity offers room to deepen my craft while continuing to explore the stories, histories and contradictions that inform my writings

“The award comes at a time when African writers and artists continue to find new audiences across international literary and performance spaces.

“The next chapter will involve developing my practice in the United Kingdom, while bringing the questions and stories that have shaped my work into a new academic and creative environment”.

The University of East Anglia launched its first MA in Creative Writing in 1970 and has since established a strong reputation in contemporary literary education, with alumni whose works span fiction, poetry and screenwriting.

A 2017 graduate of Economics from Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Ogun State, Àjàdí has written and directed stage plays and short films, and has taught film and writing-related courses.

His creative work spans the stage and screen and frequently examines society, culture and the complexities of human experience through storytelling.

Àjàdí’s scholarship comes amid growing international interest in African literature, theatre and filmmaking, with writers and artists from the continent gaining wider audiences across literary and performance platforms.

Through the Kowitz Scholarship, Àjàdí will have the opportunity to develop his scriptwriting practice in the United Kingdom while bringing the African stories and experiences that have shaped his work into a new academic and creative environment.

His studies at UEA are expected to further his development as a writer and director and expand his engagement with storytelling across stage and screen.