Naija Stories is an online community of mostly Nigerian readers and writers who read and submit content for reading. The name Naija is a colloquial expression used to refer to Nigeria; as such, most of the contributions have a Nigerian theme to them.
Contents
History
The site that hosts the community was founded by Myne Whitman, an author and blogger, in March 2010. It grew out of her desire to see a growth in reading by and writing for Nigerians. Since its inception, the site has grown so that as of November 2013, it has over four thousand members and over 9,000 contributions and 120,000 comments from amongst these members.
Operation
The community hosts writing such as stories of various genres, poems, articles and non-narrative fiction that dwell on themes relating to Nigerians or life in Nigeria. Members may join and submit writing fitting any of the categories above, or they may comment on the submitted writing. Depending on their contributions, members are rewarded with points.
Competitions
Since its inception, Naija Stories has hosted various competitions, including ones to celebrate Nigeria's 50th anniversary, and to highlight the Nigerian elections in 2011. Some of the competitions have been organised in conjunction with other organisations, such as Worldreader, a charity involved in improving literacy worldwide. In addition, Naija Stories has recognised members whose writing has proven especially popular by giving them a 'Writer of the Month' award.