10 Opportunities for African Writers
Up to $100,000 in cash prizes, publication, free fellowships
This newsletter is published every Wednesday.
1. SpringNG 2024 Writing Fellowship
The SprinNG Writing Fellowship (SWF) is an intensive 6-week online mentorship program for developing Nigerian, Ghanaian, Liberian, and South African writers with great potential and willingness to learn.
Deadline: April 15, 2023. | Prize: Free 6-week writing fellowship.
Things to note:
This fellowship focuses on Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Book Review, Play/Drama, and Blogging. During the 6 weeks, mentees will be in contact with their mentors, sending them their works and getting reviews and commentaries. Mentors and mentees will aim to work on at least 1 piece of writing in their select genre per week.
The SprinNG Creative Writing Fellowship is only open to writers who have not published a book before (eBook/hardcopy).
Applicants must be a Nigerian, Ghanaian, Liberian, or South African citizen, must reside in Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, or South Africa, and must be between the ages of 18 to 25.
For more information click here.
2. 2024 NLNG Prize for Nigerian Literature
Nigeria LNG Limited is a globally competitive LNG company helping to build a better Nigeria. They organize this prize each year to promote Nigerian literature. The Nigeria Prize for Literature is one of the 10 richest and most prestigious literary prizes in the world.
Deadline: 2nd of April 2024. | Prize: $100,000
How to enter contest:
The competition is open to only Nigerian writers irrespective of their place of residence.
An author will enter only one published work. Unpublished work will not be considered. No book previously submitted for this competition may be re-submitted at a later date, even if major revisions have been made or a new edition published. No book published before 2021 will be accepted.
No member of the Advisory Board, Panel of Judges and members of their families can enter their work(s) for the award in the period in which they are serving and two years thereafter.
No entries will be accepted from staff of Nigeria LNG Limited and their families.
All applicants must submit their entries accompanied by an application form found here.
Completed forms must be printed and submitted along with the entries.
Twelve (12) copies of the entry and an e-copy of each entry, with evidence of a Nigerian passport or National Identity Card), may be submitted either by the author or publisher. Books should be submitted to Nigeria LNG Limited’s External Relations Division, promoters of the prize, by the stipulated deadline.
Entries should be sent to:
The Nigeria Prize for Literature
External Relations Division,
Nigeria ENG Limited Corporate Head Office
NLNG Road, Eastern By-Pass,
Port Harcourt. Rivers State. Nigeria
3. Call for Applications: Caine Prize for African Writing 2024
The AKO Caine Prize for African Writing is a registered charity whose aim is to bring African writing to a wider audience using our annual literary award. They are now accepting applications for the 2024 edition of the prize.
Deadline: 31st March 2024. | Prize: £12,000 (£10,000 for winner + £500 for 4 others)
Rules of entry:
The story must have been published in the five years preceding the submissions deadline. For 2024 eligibility, the judges will only consider work published between 1st April 2019 and 25th March 2024.
Entries must be more than 3,000 words or less than 10,000 words.
Entries must be submitted by a publisher. This includes publishers of physical and digital books, literary journals, magazines, and arts oriented websites.
Writers must be over 18 years of age at the time of submission.
Self-published and unpublished short stories are not eligible.
Publishers are encouraged to submit multiple short stories as long as they do not submit more than one story by the same author.
Stories may only be entered for consideration for The Caine Prize for African Writing once. Unfortunately, this means that you may not re-submit a story for consideration, even if it was not selected for the shortlist.
Genres not eligible for entry include: novels, children’s stories, factual writing, academic essays, plays, poetry, autobiography/biography, and any work that does not constitute a fictional short story.
Submissions must specify which African country the author comes from and the short story word count.
Publishers are required to upload a ‘publisher’s letter’ with each submission. See below for more information:
Publishers are required to provide:
Name of the writer(s).
Title of the story or stories being submitted.
Word count of each submitted story.
The qualifying nationality of the writer(s).
The date of publication of the story or stories.
Confirmation of consent from the writer(s) whose stories are being submitted for the Prize.
Each story must be submitted by the publisher via email (submissions@caineprize.com) as a PDF attachment or via a link to the story (if it has been published online).
Please ensure ‘The Caine Prize for African Writing Entry for 2024’ appears in the subject matter of your email.
4. Masobe Books Call for Submissions 2024
Masobe Books, a leading publisher in Nigeria, committed to promoting diverse voices and compelling narratives, is pleased to announce the opening of a 2024 submissions window for new manuscripts. This exciting opportunity is aimed at discovering fresh voices in literature from the African Continent.
Deadline: 31st March 2024. | Prize: Book publication
How to apply:
Genres: We are open to a wide range of genres, including fiction, non-fiction, historical fiction, mystery, romance, science fiction, fantasy, and more. This year however, our focus is on Romance.
Manuscript Format: Please submit the first three chapters of your manuscripts in standard manuscript format, double-spaced, with 12-point font. Include a cover letter with a brief author bio, a detailed synopsis of your work and contact information.
Submission Process: Visit our website at www.masobebooks.com/submissions/. Click on the link titled SUBMIT MANUSCRIPT and fill the submissions form.
Selection Process: Our editorial team will carefully review all submissions, considering originality, style, and thematic relevance and depth. Selected authors will be notified within 8 to 16 weeks.
5. Get Ready to Pitch Your Story to HumAngle
HumAngle is a niche media platform committed to insightful and objective coverage of Africa’s conflict, humanitarian, and development issues. They accept pitches from freelancers across Africa every quarter. “Is the story unique and within our coverage area? Do you have the ability to tell it? Then, by all means, send us a proposal.”- Hum Angle
Timeline: 1-21st March 2024 | Compensation: Unstated
Things to note:
Their main coverage areas include accountability and good governance; climate change, energy, and environment; conflict and humanitarian crises; development; disinformation; displacement and migration; election security; extremism; gender; and human rights.
They only fund investigative story pitches.
Pitches should show that you have access to an original story that is of public interest, which you have the capacity to treat with depth and eloquence.
They have a bias for pitches with a multimedia component, no matter how little. This could be a plan to produce a video explainer, feature podcast, animated video, or short documentary.
Pitches should be submitted alongside a budget that includes projected expenses on lodging, movement, fixer fees, and per diem.
6. Brittle Paper’s Free Masterclass in The Basics of Fiction Writing
Brittle Paper is an online literary magazine for readers of African Literature. They are currently offering free Masterclasses in the basics of fiction writing led by 5 African authors: Molara Wood, Eghosa Imaseun, Zukiswa Wanner, Ellah Wakatama and Chiemeka Garricks.
Deadline: unstated | Prize: Masterclass
Things to note:
The five classes are: Theme with Molara Wood, Setting with Eghosa Imaseun, Plot with Zukiswa Wanner, Language and Style with Ellen Wakatama, Character Development with Chiemeka Garricks.
To enrol in any class, you have to create a free Brittle Paper account.
You can enrol in multiple classes simultaneously.
To register, click the text of your preferred class.
6. Lolwe: Call for Submissions
Lolwe is currently OPEN to submissions for their Issue 9. They are looking for work that is bold, different, and blurs or pushes boundaries: play with form and language, ignore genre classifications, send in your fears and joys, your doubts and faiths, your curiosities and silences. While not mandatory, they recommend you have a look at their past issues here before you submit.
Deadline: 29th February 2024. | Compensation: unstated
Things to note:
Submissions can either be fiction, essays, poetry, and photography
1,000-10,000 words for fiction and essays. Min. 3 – Max. 5 poems contained in a single document. Min. 5 – Max. 10 images/artworks in one document alongside 200-500 words about the work. (If you’d like to submit an image for the cover, just submit a single high resolution version in the photography category).
Submit as word document, Times New Roman, 12pt, double-spaced.
Please submit one submission per submission cycle and to only one category. Any submission to more than one or the wrong category will be automatically rejected.
Simultaneous submissions are permitted. Just remember to withdraw if accepted elsewhere. For poetry, leave a note on submittable indicating which poem(s) is/are no longer available.
Send a brief bio alongside the submission.
Only original, unpublished submissions will be read. Previously published work is not accepted at all.
7. Isele Magazine Call for Submissions on Grief
“For this quarterly issue of Isele Magazine, we are seeking submissions that revolve around grief. Grief from losing a loved one. Grief from giving up on your dreams and aspirations. Grief from living in a broken world. Grief from losing your health and bodily functions. Grief from losing your job. Grief from losing an animal companion. We want fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, visual art, and hybrid works that explore this theme.”—Isele
Deadline: 29th February 2024. | Compensation: unstated
Guidelines:
All submissions for the quarterly issue should be sent to quarterly@iselemagazine.com. The email subject line should read Genre: Lastname (e.g. Poetry: Angelou).
We DO NOT accept multiple submissions. Please submit to one genre only.
For fiction and nonfiction, submit max. 5000 words of prose.
For poetry, submit max. 3 poems in a single document.
For photography and visual art, submit max. 5 images in JPEG or PNG format and include a brief note detailing the concept and relevance of your work. Only submit work that you still retain the rights to. We DO NOT accept AI-generated images or artwork.
For prose (fiction and nonfiction) and poetry, we DO NOT publish previously published works (by this, we mean any piece that has appeared on the web or in print, including your personal blog). However, we will consider a translated version of the work if the original language wasn’t in English. For photography and visual art, we may publish works that have been previously published, posted, or exhibited as long as the artist still retains the rights.
Simultaneous submissions are okay but please notify us as soon as your work is accepted elsewhere
All accepted submissions are automatically considered for The Isele Prizes.
8. Naija Theatre: Call for Reviews
Naija Theatre was created to give Nigerian stories told on a theatre stage the necessary support. They are calling for reviews of Nigerian Theatre productions.
Deadline: 25th of each month. | Renumeration: N50,000
Steps to submit:
Watch a Nigerian stage play
Write a review about it
In the designated form, kindly share your name, email address and paste your review in the box provided. Once you are done filling, click submit. A black checkmark is proof that your submission was successful.
If your review is selected, you will be contacted for your cash prize and to request images where necessary.
Click here to submit.
9. Efiko Magazine: Call for Submissions for First Edition of 2024
EFIKO is an online literary magazine with a focus on Africa as both place and perspective. It is the definitive publication for bookish folks interested in Africa. “We are always seeking poems, short stories, and essays of the highest quality from writers of African origin based anywhere in the world or anyone writing about Africa”—Efiko.
Deadline: unstated. | Compensation: N20,000
Things to note:
Length: poetry – 2 to 5 poems totalling 10 pages; short story and essay – 2,000 to 7,000 words.
Manuscript: typeset in Times New Roman, 12 points, double-spaced, with numbered pages.
Submission method: please email your submission as a Word document attachment to submissions@efikomag.com. Indicate the genre of your submission in the subject line of your email. Save the attached document with your name and the genre of your work. Include a 5-line bio in the body of the email.
Simultaneous submissions: They allow simultaneous submissions but please notify them promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere.
Multiple submissions: submit only one piece per issue.
Response: They aim to respond within 3 months. If you do not get a response after this time, please send an inquiry to editors@efikomag.com.
Revision: They will not allow extensive revision from contributors after work has been accepted.
Reprint: except in special cases, they only accept original, previously unpublished work. They will not accept work that already exists online.
Rights: They ask for first serial rights and for rights to republish in a collection. Rights revert to you after publication. If you reprint your work elsewhere, they ask that you acknowledge them as the first publisher.
Technical Writing
1. RemoTasks is STILL seeking writers to train AI in African languages
RemoTasks is a platform for independent contracting. They are currently seeking individuals who write fluently in Afrikaans, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and Xhosa to help train AI systems.
Deadline: Unstated. | Pay: $14.88/hr - $21.96/hr
Preferred qualifications:
You should apply if you meet any of these (or anything similar you think makes you a good fit).
Professional Translator
Enrollment or completion of an undergraduate program in a humanities field or field related to writing
Enrollment or completion in a graduate program related to creative writing
Experience writing professionally (copywriter, journalist, technical writer, editor, etc.)
To find out more and apply, please click your preferred language: Afrikaans, Hausa , Igbo, Yoruba, Xhosa.
Prose of the Week
Beans and Potato Porridge by Naija Jollof!
“Ah. Chukwuebuka. It's my God that will punish you. The gods of my father will never let you rest.” You screamed out as the police hauled you away…
Poetry of the Week
Where the Sun does not Shine by Ogah Friday David
I dare not ask why the sun hestitates to beam/ perhaps
it too prays one finds love in the dark/ or it
too searches for love but does not tell…
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Ọ ga di mma (It shall be well—Igbo, Southeastern Nigeria)