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1. Youth & Elections in Africa Dialogue Series Essay Writing Competition
This essay writing competition gives young people the chance to contribute to the ongoing dialogue about Africa’s elections. “What does it take to make your voice heard in an election year? In a world where social media, misinformation, and representation can shape outcomes, young people have a unique power and a responsibility to contribute to the integrity of elections, the development of democracy and enriching their civic participation”—Pollicy
Deadline: 25th November 2024, 11:59 pm EAT | Prize: Total of $600
Things to note:
Participants must be adults between 18 and 30 years old.
Open to young people residing in African countries.
Essays should be between 800 – 1,000 words
Essay must be written in English or Swahili.
Include a title page with the following information:
Title of the essay
Your full name
Age
Country of residence
Contact information (email and phone number)
Competition themes (for descriptions, click here):
Internet Culture in Shaping Digital Social Halls for Youth Engagement in Elections in Africa
Social Media in Shaping Youth Engagement in Elections
Combating Mis/Disinformation
On Intersectional Representation in African Elections
Submissions should be sent strictly via email to info@pollicy.org
2. CoE Poetry Slam Contest (South Africa)
The CoE calls on all wordsmiths in the region (Gauteng) to battle it out on stage in a slam poetry competition. Interested poets must be residents of the city and 16 years or older to participate.
Dates: 26th November to 13th December | Prize: Unstated
How to enter:
There is no registration, simply work into the specified venue for your region.
Southern region: November 26, 10:00-16:00 at the Katlehong Library Auditorium
Eastern region: November 27 10:00-16:00 at the Rhoo Hlatshwayo Art Centre;
Northern region: November 29 10:00-16:00 at the Thembisa West Library.
Top three performers from each region will compete in the finale at the Dumisani Masilela Theatre in Germiston, on the 13th of December.
3. Submit to The Stinging Fly
The Stinging Fly is a literary magazine, a book publisher, an education provider, and an online platform. They are seeking previously unpublished poetry and prose. “We have a particular interest in promoting new writers, and in promoting the short story form”—TSF
Deadline: 27th November 2024 | Pay: Up to €1200
Guidelines:
Work must be previously unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere.
They currently accept submissions in the following four categories: short fiction; novel extracts; non-fiction; poetry.
Writers may only submit work under one category per submission period.
Your work should always be just as long (or as short) as it needs to be. If you are sending a novel extract, please don’t send your full novel! Just a chapter or a section or a story-length passage will suffice, so long as it can be enjoyed as a standalone piece.
For general poetry submissions, you may send up to 3 poems. Your poems should be submitted together in one single file.
To submit, fill this form.
4. The #YouthGive Africa Contest
The #YouthGive Africa Contest is an exciting opportunity for young Africans (ages 14-29) to share their personal stories of generosity and community impact on a global platform. The goal of the contest is to amplify young change makes across the continent. There are prizes for the three most inspiring stories.
Deadline: 30th November 2024 | Prize: Total of $3000
Things to note:
To enter the contest, kindly fill this form
Participants must not be older than 29years old.
Story shared must be the personal experience of the entrant.
5. 2024/2025 Nyerere National Award for Creative Writing (Kiswahili)
The Tanzania Institute of Education (TET) invites creative writers to participate in the Mwalimu Nyerere National Creative Writing Award by submitting their novels, poetry, plays and children’s stories for consideration.
Deadline: 30th November 2024 | Prize: Unstated
Guidelines:
This prize is only open to Tanzanians.
All submissions must be written in Kiswahili and previously unpublished in part or whole. The manuscript should be sent as an attachment in Microsoft Word (except Children’s Stories) or Braille format.
The attachment should include the title of the manuscript and the category entered.
The first page of the manuscript should have the title and total word count or number of poems.
Each page of the manuscript must be numbered.
Use "Times New Roman" font, size 12, with double spacing.
The author should not include their name or any personal information on the manuscript itself.
In the email accompanying the manuscript, the author should provide the following details: full name, pen name (if applicable), gender, phone number, address, a brief biography (not exceeding 150 words), and age. Do not include these details as an attachment.
For Novels: 60,000 and 100,000 words
For Children’s Stories: 250 and 1,000 words
The story should target children aged 5 to 12.
Submit the children’s story manuscript as a PDF, not a Word document.
For information on plays and poetry, see here.
Each participant must sign a declaration form confirming that the manuscript is their original work and has not been published anywhere, including online and in print media. Download the declaration form.
Please send your submission to "tuzonyerere@tie.go.tz".
6. The Jemila Abubakar Essay Competition for Undergraduates (Nigeria)
The Jemila Abubakar Essay Competition is an annual essay competition, centered on mental health, organized in memory of Miss Jemila Abubakar, founder of Asido Foundation. The competition is open to all undergraduates in Nigerian tertiary institutions (universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, monotechnics, school of nursing). The theme is “Digital Mental Health Tools for Students”.
Deadline: 3rd December 2024 | Prize: Total of N450,000
Guidelines:
The applicant must provide a scanned copy of a recent photograph, proof of studentship and a certificate of their unashamed pledge.
Sign the Asido Foundation’s Unashamed pledge.
Essay word count: 750-1500 words.
The essay should be in the Microsoft Word Doc format
Submitting an AI-generated essay and plagiarism in ANY FORM will lead to automatic disqualification
To enter, fill this form.
7. Pitch to The Walrus
Ariella Garmaise, associate editor of The Walrus, a Canadian news magazine, is calling for pitches. She has listed the following pieces to give prospective writers an idea of work which interests her: We’re in the Golden Age of Garbage Clothing; IYKYK: When Novels Speak a Language Only Part of the Internet Gets, Why Rachel Kushner Writes Characters Without Morals.
Deadline: rolling basis | Pay: unstated
How to pitch:
Pieces must be connected to Canada in some way.
Send your pitch to ariella@thewalrus.ca.
Here are some common mistakes to avoid when pitching via email.
8. Submit to Torch Magazine
Torch Literary Arts seeks original creative work by Black women writers. They are interested in work that challenges and disrupts preconceived notions of what Black women’s contemporary writing should be. Accepted submissions will be published in their Friday Features.
Deadline: Rolling basis | Pay: $150
Things to note:
Include a one (1) page cover letter noting the title(s) of the work(s) submitted and a brief bio. The cover letter page does not contribute to the overall page count.
Note: Submissions without a cover letter may not be read.
Upload your text submission as a Word (DOC, DOCX) or portable document format (PDF).
Typed, double-spaced (poetry may be single-spaced) pages.
Numbered pages.
Margins should be between 1” and 1.5”.
Poetry: submit up to five (5) poems totaling no more than eight (8) pages.
Fiction, Creative Nonfiction: 12-point font. No more than fifteen (15) pages or 3500 words (whichever is achieved first). Excerpts of longer works are welcome if self-contained.
They want CNF that is thought-provoking, engaging, and personal. Please see the following examples for the type of creative nonfiction we publish:
Brittany Rogers, “Before Uses of the Erotic”
Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, “Two Traumatic Births Changed My Experience of Motherhood”
Drama/Screenwriting: submit one act or a collection of short scenes no longer than fifteen (15) pages. Excerpts of longer works are welcome if self-contained. Indicate if a performance video or dramatic audio reading will be available with the text submission if selected.
9. BOMB Magazine is Open for Submissions
BOMB is an American magazine which has been publishing conversations between artists of all disciplines since 1981.They are currently looking for fiction and essays.
Deadline: 2nd December, 6AM | Pay: Up to $250
Things to note:
They are only considering previously unpublished work up to 5,000 words
They are particularly interested in essays on the creative process, and the intersection of criticism and practice, such as:
Annotated performance documentation
Visual essays combining text and image
Process documentation with critical commentary
Where artists become critics and critics become artists
How critical discourse shapes studio/rehearsal practice
The documentation and analysis of process-based work
At this time, they are not looking for interviews, reviews, or pitches. All submissions should be finished and ready for publication.
No profiles, essays about individual artists, interviews reframed into narrative form, or poetry.
Prose of the Week
The Slipping Away | Chinonso Nzeh
It is Sunday evening. I am curled up on the raven three-seater settee, reading Binyavanga Wainaina’s One Day I Will Write About This Place, and staring at my parents. My mother, wearing only a wrapper bound to her waist, rolls out the big mat and lays on it. My father, wearing flimsy gray shorts, picks up the Aboniki Balm from the center table and opens it.
—Jiri ya nwayọọ—take it easy, my mother says.
My father opens the cap, scoops a blob with his index finger, and rubs it on his palms. The pungent smell of menthol settles in the air. He kneels beside my mother, spiraling his hands over my mother’s back…
If you’d like your prose featured in ‘Prose of The Week’ send an email to editor.afww@gmail.com.
Poetry of the Week
Children of Small Places | Mubanga Kalimamukwento
a secret truth pulsates inside the drummer's palm between the first ululation & the last dying sound from before her music became spectacle before sacredness became ritual...
If you’d like your poetry featured in ‘Poetry of The Week’ send an email to editor.afww@gmail.com.
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Eme nenyo (Best of luck—Ewe, Ghana)