10 Opportunities for African Writers
Up to £250, Print Publication, Book Deals, Digital Publication etc
This newsletter is published every Wednesday at 5pm, WAT.
1. Submit Manuscripts to Sundress Publications
Sundress Publications is open for submissions of full-length prose manuscripts in all genres. They are particularly interested in prose collections that value genre hybridization, especially speculative memoir; strange or fractured narratives; flash fiction; experimental work; or work with strong attention to lyricism and language.
Deadline: 28th February 2025 | Pay: Book deal
Things to note:
Looking for manuscripts of 125-165 double-spaced pages of prose; front matter is not included toward the page count.
Individual stories may have been previously published in anthologies, chapbooks, print journals, online journals, etc., but cannot have appeared in any full-length collection, including self-published collections.
Manuscripts translated from another language will not be accepted.
Simultaneous submissions are fine, but we ask that authors notify us immediately if their work has been accepted elsewhere.
Submissions are free for writers of colour.
To submit, send them a 20-35 page sample of the manuscript (DOC, DOCX, or PDF); the sample should include the author’s name and an acknowledgements page.
The sample may include one story/essay or a number of shorter pieces. After the initial selection process, semi-finalists will be asked to send the full manuscript in the spring.
To submit, fill this form.
2. Isele Magazine: Call for Submissions
Isele magazine is seeking submissions for their next quarterly under the theme: The Beauty of Impermanence. They want “submissions that revolve around the ephemeral – those transient yet profoundly meaningful moments that shape our experiences…the soft glow of a sunset, the brief connection between strangers, the rush of emotions in an unforgettable encounter, the final note of a song, the last episode of your favourite series, the decay of a once-vibrant structure, the quiet moments that pass us by unnoticed. Experiences that are momentary, yet unforgettable.”—I.M
Deadline: 7th March 2025| Honorarium: Unstated amount
Things to note:
All submissions for the quarterly issue should be submitted to quarterly@iselemagazine.com. The email subject line should read Genre: Lastname (e.g. Poetry: Angelou).
They 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 prose (fiction and nonfiction) and poetry, they DO NOT publish previously published works (any piece that has appeared on the web or in print, including your personal blog). However, they will consider a translated version of the work if the original language wasn’t in English.
They accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify them as soon as your work is accepted elsewhere so that they can withdraw it from consideration.
3. Submit to The Nigerian Review
The Nigeria Review provides a forum for the critical, in-depth, and intellectually curious examination of books and ideas at the nexus of literary criticism and cultural conversation. Reviews and essays that go beyond a superficial assessment are encouraged; these are works that examine a work’s creative and intellectual qualities and place it in the context of larger literary, historical, and cultural discussions
Deadline: Unstated | Pay: Unstated
Things to note:
They accept reviews and critical essays on poetry, fiction, play, children’s literature, creative non-fiction, book of interviews, biographies and memoirs.
Reviews should range between 1,500–2,000 words.
Critical essays and interviews may exceed this limit.
Priority will be given to reviews of recent publications.
Submissions must be original, unpublished, and free of plagiarism.
We encourage writers to engage books critically, considering not only thematic concerns but also stylistic and structural elements.
To submit your work, please send the following to editor@nigeriareview.com.ng:
Your review (as a Word document)
A five-line profile (including your name, background, and relevant publications)
A high-quality studio portrait
A clear shot of the book cover you are reviewing.
4. Call for Proposals: New short fiction
Applied African Science Fiction (SF) is a project funded by Imperial College London that, together in collaboration with the University of Nairobi, the African Speculative Fiction Society, Vector and the International Black Speculative Writing Festival, aims to create educational resources for using African speculative cultures in the context of environmental policy and other scientific and social innovations. They are inviting African writers to collaborate with scientists to write short stories that could be used in STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), especially at university level.
Deadline: 15th March 2025 | Pay: £250
Things to note:
They are looking for work that addresses the following themes: the ethics and politics of research and innovation, science communication, foresight studies, AI, (post-) development and economics, environmental technology, climate reparations and progressive legislature, governance (of technology), policy, the history and philosophy of science, and more.
Submit proposals to: vector.submissions@gmail.com.
They expect the stories to be relatively short, ranging from around 1,000 to 5,000 words.
Additionally, they are looking to republish existing stories. If you think you have written a story that can be a STEM resource, please get in touch.
Source: Writing Africa
5. Efiko Magazine is Accepting Submissions
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. They are 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
Deadline: 20th March 2025 | Pay: Up to N30,000 or $40
Things to note:
Length: poetry – 2 to 5 poems totalling 10 pages; short story and essay – 1,200 to 5,000 words.
Manuscript: typeset in Times New Roman, 12 points, double-spaced, with numbered pages.
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. Submissions without this information will not be read.
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 us promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere.
Submit only one piece per issue.
Except in special cases, they only accept original, previously unpublished work. They will not accept work that already exists online.
6. Open Call for Submissions: 20.35 Africa Vol. VIII Poetry Anthology
20.35 is an anthology by and for living African poets means celebrating the current moment, the lush and vibrant landscape of what African poetics is negotiating, while also looking back and paying homage to the great writers who walked. This volume will be guest-edited by Sarah Lubala and Logan February alongside 20.35 Africa editors: Ebenezer Agu, I.S. Jones, Precious Okpechi, and JK Anowe.
Deadline: 24th March 2024, 11:59 (UTC) | Pay: unstated
Things to note:
The anthology is open to African poets who are between the ages of 20 (or who would be 20 by the time of publication) and 35.
Submissions can cut across different themes and each contributor may send three poems ONLY. Please send us your best poems, properly edited.
Poets who have had a full-length book or a chapbook or pamphlet published in electronic or print format can submit. Poets who have not been published in any form or on any literary forum/outlet, and fall into the acceptable age bracket, are encouraged to submit as well.
Only poems written in English will be accepted. Works translated into English from any African language may be submitted, but they must be accompanied by their original.
There is no stipulation as to the content of submitted poems, but poems should be ideally within 40 lines.
Identifying information, including names of poets, addresses, phone numbers, and publication histories, should NOT be included in the manuscript or in the body of the email.
Submit through your personal email address and include the same email address on the last page of your manuscript. Submissions will be judged solely on merit.
They accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify them immediately if any of your poems is accepted elsewhere.
All entries must be submitted in a SINGLE WORD DOCUMENT, typed in TIMES NEW ROMAN, font 12, single-spaced, and sent via email only to the 20.35 Africa team at submissions@2035africa.org.
The email subject should read “20.35 AFRICA SUBMISSION.”
Submissions must be written in black ink. No colours.
Each poem must have a title.
Poems must be the original work of the contributor.
They hope to respond to every submission by June 2025.
Accepted contributors must be available throughout the editing process and for other correspondence that may follow.
7. Call for Submissions on Proximity
Jelly Squid Magazine is a new triannual publisher for prose and poetry seeking to elevate the voices of emerging writers. “Our third issue, set to release this spring, will be focused on the theme of proximity – as always, our themes are meant to inspire you, not limit you, so interpret this however you wish.”—JS
Deadline: 29th March 2025 | Pay: Unstated
Things to note:
Please send all submissions by email to jellysquidmag@gmail.com.
Fiction and Creative Nonfiction:
For flash fiction and short stories, please limit your submission length to 4,000 words or less. Do not submit more than one piece at a time.
If you're submitting micro fiction (400 words or less), you may submit up to three micros so long as they do not exceed six pages in total.
We ask that you submit in the form of a pdf or docx document that does not contain your name or any other identifying information within it.
Poetry submissions can include up to three poems that equal no more than six pages in total length (please submit all poems in one document).
When submitting, please include your name, the title of your piece(s), and what type of work you are submitting (e.g. Jane Doe – Poem 1, Poem 2, and Poem 3 – Poetry Submission) in the subject of your email.
8. Submit to The Weganda Review
The Weganda Review is a literary journal produced in Uganda.Founded in 2023 as a project of the cultural nonprofit Weganda Foundation, it is a platform for writers, researchers, academics, artists and others whose thinking is worth sharing. TWR publishes short fiction, poetry, art portfolios, photography, diaries, reviews and, especially, essays as cultural criticism.
Deadline: Rolling basis | Pay: Unstated
Things to note:
They are not interested in work that’s already been published by others, and they don’t publish polemics or other contributions presenting extreme opinions.
All submitted material should be double-spaced and proofread to remove the most egregious clerical errors.
Essays: personal essays are especially welcome.
Maximum of 4000 words
Fiction and Poetry: They especially like verse that stretches in unexpected ways, that explores the fluidity of everyday life. If the poem doesn’t give pleasure, at least it should provoke thought or command attention for its style. The same applies for fiction submissions, which must have literary merit. Writers must ensure that their prose is lucid before they submit. Poets and fiction writers work with genre editors who collaboratively shape their work until it is ready for publication.
Fiction should be a maximum of 3000 words
Please submit only one story for consideration at any time.
To submit, fill this form.
9. The Cincinnati Review: Call for miCRo Submissions
The Cincinnati Review is now open to flash pieces for their miCRo series which is curated by student editors from the University of Cincinnati. They welcome submissions from writers in all levels of their career.
Deadline: Rolling | Compensation: $25
Things to note:
please submit up to three pieces in a single file. For fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid works, each piece should be 500 words maximum.
For poetry, submit poems 32 lines or less. For drama, scripts should be about three minutes in performance.
Please include your name and contact information in the document. You may withdraw individual pieces from a batch of submissions by contacting them at editors@cincinnatireview.com or using the contact form on this website.
10. Libre: Call for Submissions on Cinema
Libre is looking for film-centric pieces under the theme: Send them work “about neurodiversity that speaks straight through to the uncomfortable truths we as audiences have more and more grown to view as unpalatable.”
Deadline: 1st April 2025 | Prize: $30
Things to note:
Please submit only one .docx file at a time. Please, no PDFs.
Title your submission using the following format: LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_GENRE
In your cover letter, please include a 100 wordish third-person biography (and relevant social media or website links you would like us to link to.)
If you are able and willing to submit a brief (up to 500 words) Author/Artist statement about your submission, please include that with your submission. These are helpful when parsing the relevance, continuity, and overarching relation to mental health in your submission. Oftentimes, a transparent account of illness or personal anecdote sways us far more than the submission itself. We like to consider the full package when and if at all possible.
Prose of the Week
The Prophecy | C.I Atumah
My mother practices Christianity with the same fervor and devotion as one who worships idols – brooms to flog witches in the air, candles to ward off evil eyes, a big birthday party to feed the kids in our area, everything orchestrated for divine favor. She wields God like a weapon, as her personal footman who would send thunder in an envelope to strike the thieves who break into our poultry farm, destroy the secret plans she thinks I have with my father, and stop the heavy rains that are killing her okra plants…
Poetry of the Week
Dear Home, Dear Silence(2024) | Wisdom Adediji
At dusk, the sky weeps over our roof
and the aluminum sheet won’t stop singing its sympathy.
If you ever read about loss, you would know
there is no softer name for it.
Outside, the leaves, like tambourines, shiver under…
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Màa ngui lay nianal weurseuk (Good luck—Wolof, Senegal)