Nigerian poet Adeniyi Odukoya receives recognition in US literary award
Nigerian poet Adeniyi Odukoya has earned an honourable mention in the 2026 Vanderbilt University Literary Prize. The award, organised by Vanderbilt University in the United States, highlighted eight poets for honourable mentions out of nearly 400 submissions. Odukoya, currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts at Brown University, has previously received accolades for his poetry. His works have appeared in several literary journals, and he is also recognised as a literary critic.
What we know
- Adeniyi Odukoya received an honourable mention in the 2026 Vanderbilt University Literary Prize.
- The competition attracted almost 400 submissions from poets in the United States and internationally.
- Jane Huffman won the 2026 Vanderbilt University Literary Prize for her manuscript, which will be published in March 2027.
- Odukoya previously won the Food Poetry Prize from Poets in Nigeria in 2018 and had his debut chapbook selected for publication in 2021.
- He is set to graduate from Brown University in December 2026.
