WRITE YOUR OWN BOOK SCHEME

(An HCAF Initiative)

About the program
The Hilltop Creative Arts Foundation has added another feather to its cap. The recent addition, which is one of the many projects birthed by the organization, is a first of its kind. It is tagged – the Write Your Own Book Holiday Program, a 3-week program where registered teenagers from different schools are admitted into the project and mentored on writing their own books.

The programme was hatched to increase the needs of students desiring to become writers. Their vision to become authors of their own book someday is being created by HCAF. At the Write Your Own Book holiday program, students were coached mainly on two genres: poetry and prose, including grammar and public speaking. The program is run on a two-semester basis.

Calls for admission were sent to schools for interested students to register on March 14, 2024, with a registration fee of N10,500 paid by individual students, and another requirement was for them to select an area of specialty between the two genres (poetry and prose). On April 6, 2024, the first class was held with ten teenagers and seven mentors.

Time Allocation

A normal day at the Write Your Own Book program consists of the following hours of rigorous study, mentoring, and writing:

One hour of general class. This is the first event of the day. Students from the two genres converge daily for a general class, which consists of lessons from the two genres and general writing tips as well as general or basic knowledge about many areas of life. You pick one genre of focus but you are also equipped with knowledge from the other areas of relevance to writing and education.
The next two hours are for mentor-mentee interaction. This is the main interest of many applicants to the program. Every student is assigned a mentor based on his area of study. The mentor guides the student to put their greatest idea into words. The enchanting environment of the centre is a bonus for bringing out the hidden muse of the students. They are allowed to use whichever resources are available to them at the HCAF. This includes the library, ICT, the garden, and other spaces within the art arena to realize themselves artistically. The mentor is allowed to use the two hours however they want, but this part of the study involves less lecturing and talking to more action (writing). There is always something new coming from the students at the end of this two-hour session with their mentors.
The fourth hour is for a return to another general class. Students converge for the last time for the day to share ideas, learn from each other, and learn from other mentors before calling it a day. This includes recitations and general interactions. It is a loose but serious session with everyone around, including parents.

Just as in every conventional institution in Nigeria, this program is divided into two academic sessions; first and second semesters. There is a mid-semester test at the end of each week, and then a semester exam at the end of the semester. Students are assessed and results are compiled and given at the end of each semester. The first cohorts are already done with their exams. The second semester begins during the long vacation of 2024.

As the students were coming up with their manuscripts, they were granted access to the HCAF ICT facility and taught to also type their manuscripts themselves. At the end of the three-week training program, they can still come to HCAF every Saturday to type their work or meet their mentors (this is based on the mentor-mentee agreement). Others could decide to continue via phone calls or chatting online until the second semester again (in this case, the next holiday).

At the end of the second semester, all students will graduate from the certificate course at a graduation ceremony organized by the Directorate of Creative Writing of HCAF in the presence of dignitaries invited from around the State.

List of Mentors

These are the names of mentors who taught for the first semester.

Fatima Salihu
Ibraheem Uthman
Zakiyyah Dzukogi
Abdulrazaq Salihu
EmmanuelUmeji
AbubakarAuwal
Aliyu Umar Muhammad

Courses Offered

The courses offered in the program include:

Figures of Speech
Punctuation
Creative Writing (Poetry and Story)
Art of Public Speaking
Grammar.

List of Students in the Pioneer Class

For the first cohort, these are the names of students who applied and their details :

Aisha Ibrahim Tauheed: Baiwa International School, Minna (Prose)
Jessica Stephen: Baiwa International School, Minna (Prosee)
Rahmat A Muhammad: Baiwa International School, Minna (Poetry)
Aliyah Abdulrafiu Yusuf: Baiwa International School, Minna (Prose)
Saratu Muhammad Yerima: Himma International College, Minna (Prose)
Aladede Zoe Mayokun: Redeemers High School, Minna (Poetry)
Amal Ibrahim: Federal Government College, Minna (Prose)
Amatullah Mustapha Yusuf: Al-Fitri Islamic Academy, Minna (Poetry)
Nimah Folawuyo Salau: Himma International College, Minna (Prose)

Projections for the future:

HCAF is looking to expand the exercise into a creative writing school and admit not just students of secondary schools in Minna but interested fellows from the 25 local government areas of the Niger state and the whole of Nigeria at large.

A hostel is being sought to accommodate individuals coming from outside Minna. Our programs will be registered, and the awarding of certificates will commence soon. We are looking to reach a point where we will award Diploma and Degree certificates, including MFA programs, to interested applicants worldwide.

The Write Your Own Book is going to be bigger than just a holiday programme. This project will cater to the needs of creative individuals who have only dreamed but didn’t have the resources, environment, and willpower to achieve that dream.

Conclusion

The Founder of HCAF announced Ms. Fatima Salihu as the pioneer principal of the Minna Creative Writing Class under the Directorate of Creative Writing Programmes of the Hill-Top Creative Arts Foundation, with Ojo Olumide Emmanuel as the Director.