TheGoodFelo

Imagine a river, content in its own course and flowing gently as if to say “Easy easy does it”. Then, all of a sudden, the drama begins. The music is silent, but the beats are deafening-loud. Like the bàtá, the conga, and the gong, blasting away erratically. All at once, altogether in disunity. The waves of this river - once calm and seamless - now begin to rise to the tune. They rise left and right. They twist their bodies violently, as if sanity suddenly slipped off the grips of a princess, and she scurries aimlessly in her father’s court. The waves rise and fall in one accord then rise again in no accord.  Woosh wooshh… The thing in the air ravages tranquillity once enthroned. Everything, then, subsides as though nothing had happened, but the gongs are still beating quietly at the heart of the river. The surface is clear, but the drama is still on. It’s all part of the orchestra. They are all waiting for the blaring call of the trumpet, which will solo right before the unknown. ...

I was seated at my desk in my overly lit office. The bright white lights were fuelling an awful migraine in my head and my mind was stretching beyond its limits. I did not want it to snap. “I try too hard to end up like this again,” I muttered under my breath. Nonetheless, I felt as though I had gotten to the end of myself and my strength couldn’t save me anymore. “I need to put myself together nicely. I have to, I think; but nothing is working,” I pondered helplessly, sitting still and boiling up in my buttoned-up shirt and tight tie. I could literally pass out and still look well-put-together. Hum…  I walked past my colleagues with a plastic smile, straight into the convenience to cry my eyes out till I was lighter. I sat, this time on the toilet cover, and cried like a 4-year-old who had just lost his most treasured toy. Then, I stood up and washed my face in the basin, dried it out with some toilet paper, put on my overused plastic smile and walked out empty. When you’re at you...

ARTISTE BIOGRAPHY: Sola Soyele is a Nigerian gospel singer, songwriter, and ardent worshipper of Yahweh. In March 2020, he made his official debut on the music scene with the release of Eternally, a song that is still blessing lives today. As a writer and lover of Jesus, Sola hopes to inspire and encourage today's people to fulfil their ultimate purpose as humans to the fullest. This purpose is "to please God", which is a form of worship. By worshipping God with our everyday lives, in every situation, with faith and godly fear, we can create a complete platter of worship. Sola is a creative and inspirational writer, blogger, and author. When he's not singing or writing, he's finding more ways to add value to others. Download You Are Big MP3 HERE ABOUT THE SONG: You Are Big is an anthem of pride; a bold statement of faith and belief in the omnipotence of our God. Having completed its recording since February, God managed to delay it till this moment. "When Go...

We sincerely apologize for delaying this announcement till now. It has been a concern to us that we have to withdraw this year's TheGoodFelo Young Writers' Award. Having received some submissions, we, unfortunately, could not find stories and writings that met up to our award standards. This is not to say that every entry is not good; rather, we wish to encourage young writers' to learn more, read more, practice more... in order to create better works. For this reason, we - TGF team members - have decided to publish helpful articles, subsequently. Stay connected and up to date with our next posts and you can learn more on creative writing in general. On this note, we are sorry to reiterate that TYWA 2021 has been withdrawn. With Regards, TheGoodFelo team.

We aren't one of those people who request a glass of water when there's a variety of fruit juice flavours to savour! What an awful waste that would be. TheGoodFelo Young-Writers Awards is announcing their annual teenagers literary contest for the year 2021. For the records, Storytelling is Oxygen. Metaphor? We waited this long to catch another breath of fresh air, or is it fresh tales? And, yes, we cannot wait any longer, lest we choke! Last year was undoubtedly great as you can still see. However, TYWA 2021 has to be extra! As always, we know you know a creative teenager who can take our breath away with their incredibly awe-mazing storytelling. Please, do not hesitate to let them know we're waiting on them. Here is another opportunity for that child, friend, student, person...to take us to the moon and back. Your talent can win you our TYWA 2021 Award, free Publishing and Publicity, Cash Prizes and more, in TheGoodFelo Young-Writers Awards 2021. From what we have seen, ov...

  Here is an incomplete compilation of top entries from TYWA 2020 Contest. Freely download this as a part of our SRL for 2021. As you should know, we aim to provide a meaningful platform for writers to tell their own stories. TheGoodFelo Young-Writers Awards is a grass-root project which is under no pressure to present only exceptional writings or sustain any image at all cost. Even though we work towards creating standard, memorable contents for general view, we are still bent on telling all kinds of tales that are Read-Worthy - from the purely unadorned story written out of the creativity bank of the simplest child, to extraordinary ones by those with remarkable writing skills. Enjoy the tales and evaluate the creative capabilities of our writers. Listen to the sound of our own voices, and tell of it. Have a first-hand experience with us as you flip through the pages of our latest publication. We, also, have started listening to the sound of our own voices. It's an assuring melo...

We really can get a lot happier this year. Without any embellishment, Sola Soyele has seriously and sincerely put together undecorated truths about Happiness, and how humans, like us, can grow into a higher level of Happiness in life. You want to UPGRADE Your Life? Do you want to take your Happiness to a higher level? Read up this resourceful Life Handbook, and better be ready for the Upgrade!   Details: 40-page PDF © Sola Soyele; Including contact to call for enquiries and support; Undiluted facts on Real Human Happiness. FREE but limited sponsored copies... DOWNLOAD AVAILABLE NOW, try now! Instructions: ✔ Click the link below ⤵⤵⤵ CLICK HERE ✔ Once it opens, Click the download icon at the top... OR ✔ Click the 3 dots at the top of the document: ✔ Then, Click "Download" in the options. CLICK HERE NOTE : If you find it difficult to download from here for any reason, send a complaint to 08176265124 on WhatsApp. Likewise, if you want to receive more books, send your ...

Gratitude, Strength and Beauty: My Journey to Recovery. Human strength and beauty lies within, and are all enforced by gratitude and the people around. It’s a beautiful lesson I learnt from eight chemotherapy sessions and two surgeries over the course of one year. The school year had just ended and I was finally home with my parents after three months of intense academic activity in boarding school. As I lay on the sofa, loss in thought anticipating the beautiful holiday, my mum slowly reached out to me calling my attention to a small mass she observed protruding on my right abdominal region. Although, I had observed the mass before I never seemed to be bothered, “I feel no pain there”, I told my mum. Unknown to me my mum pondered about it all through the night and called in for a doctor’s appointment.  At the hospital we ordered for a scan, and on interpreting the scan results the doctors recommended surgery to take out the mass on the thought it was just a benign tumor. Surgery w...

We welcome all our readers into the new year! In our agenda for 2021, we have decided to put out more books than posts. These books will be interesting, insightful, and above all, add value to your life. We have worked tirelessly for more than 8 months now, just to assure you that we make promises we KNOW we can keep. In this light, all our subscribers have been automatically added to our Sponsored Readership List. The most important goals of our Sponsored Readership Project this year is to ensure YOU still have access to quality content, to see that you are able to read at least 3 books in 2021; to add value to the lives of the Nigerian youth as well as other interested subscribers; and to increase our positive impact on the society.  At least, 3 new titles, both literature and self-help would be published. These books would be distributed freely to TheGoodFelo subscribers who are on the SRL -at the cost of sponsors. Hard copies would be available later at an affordable price, pro...

"Rewarding CREATIVITY with a PLATFORM for Positive Influence" has been a core drive for all TGF projects. When TYWA was conceived, the vision was to create a sustainable platform that would encourage the involvement of African young writers in global literature. This leverage is therefore built to help talented writers validate their creative abilities as early as possible. It is our goal to initiate an era where more young writers can carve out a visible space for themselves, where the African voice can be heard clearly in the literary sphere. As TYWA 2020 announces its winners once again, here is a list of some enjoyable stories that would worth your time. From our Top Picks, we have: Blinded To Light by Abisola Emmanuella, Your Definition by Oluwatola Ibikunle-Aina, All Through The Mirror by Timileyin Akinmoyeje, Fear Of The Unknown by Prisca Ekoh, A Greater Reward by Gloria Owolabi, The Day Fire Rampaged by Grace Alioke. Keep anticipating the release of our 2021 Ant...

Finishing is one thing, finishing strong and well is another. In September, TYWA 2020 announced an open invitation to every teenage creative mind, requesting that they submit their best short-stories. The competition climaxed after the shortlist of 19 entries, and the critical selection of some top stories that have subsequently proceeded to contend for the Read-Worthy Prize. Up until 30th of November, votes, likes, views and other forms of interactions have been collected, and now, the entire process is being rounded off. With immense gratitude to all the judges, we have come close to the border. In no special order, some of the eye-widening stories that have made it to the top of our list include: A Greater Reward, The Day Fire Rampaged, Your Definition, Fear Of The Unknown, Blinded To Light, and All Through The Mirror. Today, Dec 3rd, we announce the winners of year 2020's TYWA contest, as well as the recipient of the Read-Worthy Prize. Forward all enquiries and feedback to our ...

 14 - THE DAY FIRE RAMPAGED Favour Grace Alioke lives in Mowe, Ogun (18 years old). This story was slightly edited for grammatical accuracy and to better serve TGF readers. The originality of the story is 100% intact. The sun was standing still like the policeman at Ayikara junction, making your clothes wet with your sweats as Haija was weaving your hair into six backward cornrows. Mama Halima ran into your compound, shouting, "Wuta! Wuta! Wuta tana ko'ina o! Fire! Fire! Fire is already everywhere o!" Maybe you would not have believed it if you didn't see people running helter-skelter, some clustering into one another, some pushing others away; if you didn't stretch and see fire tearing down a building. You jumped, as if frightened by a ghost, clasped your two-months old baby that was crawling on the floor, and started running too. You didn't even look back to check for Haija or Mama Halima, you just kept going where your legs were leading you, or perhaps, wh...

In no specific order, our judges for TYWA 2020 have come up with a list of the stories that should compete for the Read-Worthy prize. These stories would blow your minds away. Remember, all entries were written by people between the ages of 13 and 19 (teens). Also, the Read-Worthy prize is an additional reward for whichever story YOU, the readers, love the most. It is a subsidiary prize for the readers choice, and this means that you have the total power to decide which story wins! The overall winner of TYWA 2020 is still entitled to the main prize that would be announced in December. Read up the stories below, and comment on which one you think is best. Ensure that you drop the title of your favourite story, and any other comment in the comment section. The story with the highest number of VOTES and interactions wins. Our short-story collection titled: "The Sound Of Our Own Voices" would be out in 2021, make sure you subscribe to this site to get latest updates, or enjoy eve...

  16 - ALL THROUGH THE MIRROR Akinmoyeje Timileyin Precious lives in Ondo State (19 years old). This story was slightly edited for grammatical accuracy and to better serve TGF readers. The originality of the story is 100% intact. It was just another Monday morning. Well, maybe it wasn't just another; this one felt different from the usual. I could sense something strange about the atmosphere. It was 5:00 AM. The bells of the cathedral had started tolling as usual. That day, they were passing a different message; a solemn one, a message that only I was yet to decipher. Even the wind echoed it slowly, delibrately, as though it were reiterating the solemnity of the bell's tolls. I stood at the half broken mirror - a Monday morning ritual - to brush my teeth and make out what the morning was about.  I drifted into thoughts; memories of recent years slowly became visible on the mirror: my near death experience when the news of my father's death reached me, how I almost failed an...

  03 - BLINDED TO LIGHT Abisola Emmanuella lives in Ring-Road, Ibadan (16 years old). This story was slightly edited for grammatical accuracy and to better serve TGF readers. The originality of the story is 100% intact. “You don’t need to feel love for you to understand that you are loved… You can search for it all you want but fail to realize that you had it all along.” Rebecca never understood what it meant when her grandmother told her those words before she crossed to the other side. She had always believed her grandmother’s words were too intricate for her, yet they held answers to the most difficult questions she had. She was her ‘fountain of knowledge’ but she was gone now. The moment Grandmother left her, she knew she had to start all over, on her own of course. Who else could she run to? Maybe her father who left when she was just fifteen. She knew perfectly well that wasn’t even an option. She would find a way, she had to. “Rebecca, come and wash our plates!” spoilt Angel...

  12 - A GREATER REWARD  Owolabi Gloria Abosede lives in Osun State (17 years old). This story was slightly edited for grammatical accuracy and to better serve TGF readers. The originality of the story is 100% intact. "Please... God, please." Helen shut her eyes and opened them the next second. She let out a sigh. Her eyes were glued to Jenny's lips. Just last week, she had caught Jenny formatting the flash drive containing her group assignment. She had confronted her, but Jenny had lit into her, telling her to go ahead and do her worst. She had kept the matter to herself and had done the assignment again single-handedly. Why should she tell someone, knowing Jenny would get punished if her class teacher got to know? She had forgiven her when she apologized, but she had also been afraid... afraid of what Jenny would do next in an attempt to pull ahead of her. Now that Jenny was with her in the principal's office, claiming to know the lying one between Tom and her, Hele...

  13 - FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN Ekoh Ogheneovo Prisca lives in Delta State (16 years old). This story was slightly edited for grammatical accuracy and to better serve TGF readers. The originality of the story is 100% intact. "Change," one of the earliest six-letter words a child would probably learn to spell but hardly consider as a daily lexicon had been lingering on Danielle’s teenage mind in recent time. Like Heraclitus said when he made the now-famous quote, “Change is the only constant thing in life,” five years ago, as the Nigerian elections unfolded, heralded by the change mantra, Danielle’s eleven-year-old self was in her own transition phase from primary to secondary school. Just as the excitement of change from the Nigerian electioneering process filled the air with the promise of a certain utopist society free from corruption with boisterous economic opportunities for all, so the thought of freedom as a boarder filled her eleven-year mind. Danielle, the last of seven si...

  19 - YOUR DEFINITION Oluwatola Ibikunle-Aina lives in Ibadan South-West, Oyo State (16 years old). This story was slightly edited for grammatical accuracy and to better serve TGF readers. The originality of the story is 100% intact. She ran as fast as she could. Her tears rolled violently down her cheeks. Her whole body drenched with rain. Her nose swollen, and she repeatedly gasped for air. Tiffany kept recalling the echoes of laughter in her head. She remembered the brutal words spoken to her. She waited under a shade fully aware she was out of the sight of her classmates. “She probably stole it; she is black,” she remembered. “My mum told me black people have criminal tendencies,” she remembered again. “What an unfortunate girl!” that hit her the most. She felt defined by her colour. When the rain had calmed, Tiffany went home. She walked in casually like nothing had happened. “Honey, how was school?” her mum asked with delight on her face to see her daughter. “It was fine,” a...

Does life really 😢sulk? Or, is it just me? Are you taking things too far?😢 You may be asking relevant questions like: Why do I feel exhausted when I wake up in the morning? Why am I not having fun doing what I love to do? Why am I just stressed out with everything! 😪😪😫 I'm in...like totally! 😶 I am a not-so-proud ambassador of the Tired-Young-Men's Society of this Life. I may not be the president, but I hold a prominent position - and it's not something to boast of. So, I'm not about to judge anyone. I froze still like this 😬😬😬 when my pastor made a statement one Sunday. He said, "Remember those times when what you have now was just a dream, a prayer point, a big wish!" Truly, a series of recollections cascaded in my mind. I remembered when, many years ago, I prayed to pass O' Level exams. 🙏 I fasted with a desire to get into the university; I wished I could help people achieve their dreams; I wanted to encourage people and so forth. Now, I have ...

Read-Worthy If your story gracefully finds a page to nestle in our 2021 Anthology: The Sound Of Our Own Voices, it basically means 3 things: One, your story is not watery, salty, bitter, or sour! We tag our stories "Read-Worthy" simply because they are the kinds that are worthy of being read. This directly implies that they are not a waste of time. We will only publish stories that are worth reading at all. There seem to be too many writers, but too few storytellers. Another point is that your fingers are amazing! Whoever taught you how to write is a good manicurist. You made us smile, laugh, sad, or wide-eyed engrossed. Keep the good work, GoodFelo. Did you read our mission and vision clarification? We guess. We thought that, if we'll be showcasing African Young Writers to the world, we had to go with writers who could steal the show on our global scene. Writers like you! We noticed that a lot of people have been asking what Read-Worthy means. "Read-Worthy" is ...