Steve Ogah, a journalist with The Daily Scrum News, has been invited to judge this year’s the Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition. The invitation was contained in an email by Liv Robinson, Programme Officer at the Royal Commonwealth Society in the UK. 

“It is with great delight that I invite you to judge the QCWC this year,” the letter said, while thanking Ogah for volunteering as a judge and generously offering his time to assist the aims of the unique programme through an electronic judging process. While being guided by this year’s theme of Common Ground: Better Together, the Nigerian writer is expected to judge “approximately 100-150 entries.”  

“I very much look forward to working with you this year,” Liv Robinson added.

In response, Steve Ogah said: “I am excited to learn that I have been chosen to join the judging panel for the QCWC,” adding that “I look forward to performing my task with genuine commitment.”

A publication on the Royal Commonwealth Society’s website notes that the Commonwealth is one of the world’s most diverse global communities, spanning continents, culture, climates, and generations. Yet across this diversity lies powerful common ground: shared values, shared challenges, and shared hopes for the future.

According to the Royal Commonwealth Society, this year’s theme calls on young writers to explore what unites individuals and communities across the Commonwealth, and how collaboration and connection enable progress. Entry into this year’s competition closes by 30th April.

Steve Ogah is a syndicated writer whose stories have been published in the American, British, Canadian, and German media. He is a UEFA-accredited Women’s Champions League Final, Torino 2022 sportswriter. Steve is Voices Network (USA) Poet of the Month, February 2002. The author of The African New Yorker, he is the founder of the “One Month, One Book” writing initiative, an intervention project that provided 12 original African moral fables for free to children worldwide through a digital platform.  

This important invitation from the Royal Commonwealth Society extends Steve Ogah’s place in the international cultural and volunteer community, placing his name on a prestigious list of the 2026 QCWC judges. Beyond judging works by young writers, he will also function as a champion of emerging voices across the Commonwealth and literary metropolis.