Witsprouts, a creative agency committed to reimagining storytelling in Africa, has unveiled the 2025 Witsprouts Storytelling Prize, a groundbreaking platform aimed at reviving the age-old art of oral storytelling in contemporary performance.

This year’s edition comes as a collaboration with the Hill-Top Creative Arts Foundation (HCAF), one of the most celebrated literary development centres in Africa.

Under the theme “Rebooting Legends and Memories”, the 2025 Prize invites artists, writers, performers, dramatists, and creatives of all forms.

The submissions are expected to blend dramatic representation with storytelling craft; variations in voice, facial expressions, music, dance, and other literary techniques are invited.

“Not only is the Witsprouts Storytelling Prize a competition, it’s a cultural intervention,” said the HCAF Administrative Secretary, Ibraheem Uthman. “In an age where oral cultures are disintegrating at pace under the weight of digital modernity, HCAF is proud to be a part of reaffirming the authority of voice, memory, and body to gather people together across time and space.”

The panel of judges for the 2025 Prize features two of Nigeria’s foremost voices in performance and storytelling. They are Jude Idada — Award-winning writer, filmmaker, and winner of the NLNG-sponsored Nigeria Prize for Literature and Akanbi Taofeek — acclaimed playwright and stage director known for his deeply immersive theatrical works.

“Seeing HCAF joining forces with Witsprouts is a generational handshake,” said Haneefah Abdulrahman, Event Coordinator at Witsprouts. “A recognition that storytelling’s future rests in the harmony of tradition and innovation.”

The call for submissions is now open and will close on May 31, 2025.