Justin Clement is the winner of the 2020 Gulliver Travel Grant awarded by the Speculative Literature Foundation. The Gulliver Travel Grant, worth $1,000, is intended to assist writers of speculative fiction in research, and can be used to cover airfare, lodging, and other travel expenses.
Clement, 23, is a Nigerian writer, who is surprised he can now call himself a writer. His fiction explores the meanings and methods of life, and the human condition, through dark fantasy and science fiction. His works have been listed for various prizes and awards, including The 2018 African Writers Award for Best Short Story, The 2019 Punocracy Prize for Satire, The 2019 Nommo Awards for Best Short Story, The 2019 Awele Creative Trust Award, and others.
Justin is also an alumnus of Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus Trust Creative Writing Workshop, and his writing has been lauded by Adichie as being entertaining and full of heart.
Justin’s entanglement with speculative stories began at age four, when he started drawing comics for his entertainment. His foray into prose came when he had to change schools, after completing his junior secondary education. His comics had been popular among his peers, and to keep his old school mates updated on the progress of the stories, he created a Facebook group where he would post the detailed synopses of his comic issues (Justin cringes at the stories on this Facebook group now, but somehow, he smiles).
He is currently reading Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers, and he recently became a writer for the digital comics company, Comic Republic.
The Gulliver Travel Grant include Hugo Award-winning author N.K. Jemisin, Ibi Zoboi, and Daniel José Older; last year’s winner was María Isabel Álvarez.
Click here for more information on the Gulliver Travel Grant.
Questions about the Gulliver Travel Grant process may be directed to our grants administrator, LD Lewis, at grants@speclit.org
