Closing Soon: 8 Opportunities for African Writers
Up to $500, Contests, Jobs, Print Publication etc
This newsletter is published every Wednesday at 5pm, WAT.
1. Jacana Media is Hiring
Jacana Media is looking for freelance copy editors, proofreaders, indexers and typesetters interested in working with us on our books. If you are a professionally experienced in any of these roles within the book publishing industry, and are available to work freelance, they want to hear from you.
Deadline: 31st January 2025 | Pay: Depends on role
Things to note:
Send CV, with the subject line 'Freelance call-out', to lara@jacana.co.za
Please include a paragraph about yourself in the email, along with details of five
published books you have worked on in the last three years, as well the genres
you are most keen working on.
Please also give your express written consent for them to retain your CV, email and contact details on their freelance database for the purpose of contacting you
about possible future opportunities.
2. Akpata Magazine: Call for Submissions
Akpata Magazine is a Nigerian literary magazine published by students of the Department of English and Literature, University of Benin. For this issue, they invite submissions that delve into the complexities of human emotions. We’re interested in exploring the full spectrum of feelings: love, loss, joy, grief, anger, fear, and everything in between. We welcome fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction that captures the raw and often messy reality of human experience.
Deadline: 31st January 2025 | Pay: Unstated
Things to note:
Fiction: Maximum 6,000 words
Creative Nonfiction: Maximum 4,000 words
Poetry: Up to 4 poems
Submit your document as a .docx file only.
Double-spaced, Times New Roman 12 pt.
Brief cover letter stating your name, contact information, and title piece. Do not write the premise of your piece, why you wrote it, or a bio.
No previously published submissions.
Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Please notify them if your work is accepted elsewhere.
Original work only. Submissions containing plagiarism or derivative content will not be considered. AI-generated submissions will not be accepted.
All pages should be numbered.
Include the title of the piece and word count in the first page.
Send your entry as an attached MS-Word document to akpatamag@gmail.com
The subject line should follow this format – “Genre -Title” e.g Nonfiction- The Sun Smiles.
They do not require a bio, but you can add one if you want.
Expect a response within two weeks of the submission deadline.
3. Call for Submissions: Empty House Press
Empty House Press looks for writing that addresses the way narrative and presence adhere to place and the way they vanish. They encourage broad interpretations of what the idea or image of an empty house might evoke. This includes but is not limited to writing about home, landscape, place, memory, and of course, the atmosphere of previously inhabited spaces.
Date: 31st January 2025 | Prize: Unstated amount
Things to note:
Fiction and Nonfiction: up to 2000 words per prose piece, preference is 500-1500 word range. Please submit pieces longer than 1000 words one at a time. If you would like to submit a suite of up to 3 pieces shorter than 1000 words, please submit these in a single document.
Poetry: Feel free to send us 1-3 poems per submission in a single document.
Formatting Guidelines: Please send your work in a single .docx or .pdf file, double-spaced for prose, single-spaced for poetry, using Times New Roman or another standard font.
Simultaneous submissions are okay but please contact them immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere. They do not accept multiple submissions; please only send one submission per reading period.
To submit, click here.
4. Submit to The Paris Review
The Paris Review is a literary magazine, founded in 1953, featuring original writing, art, and in-depth interviews with famous writers. They are currently seeking poetry submissions.
Deadline: 31st January 2025 | Pay: Unstated amount
Things to note
All submissions must be in English and must be previously unpublished.
Translations are welcome and should be accompanied by a copy of the original.
Simultaneous submissions are allowed, as long as they are notified immediately if the manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere.
Please submit no more than six poems and please do not submit more than once per submission period.
They suggest to all who plan to submit that they read the most recent issues of The Paris Review to acquaint themselves with material the magazine has published.
Submit your work here.
5. Culture Africa: Inaugural Issue
Culture Africa is a non-profit site for intercultural exchange based in Bad Homburg, Germany and Mombasa, Kenya, interested in African Culture, Literature, Art, Film, Theatre, Music, Food and History. For their inaugural issue, they are inviting submissions under the aforementioned themes. This issue will be curated by award-winning Kenyan writer, Frank Njugi.
Deadline: 31st January 2025 | Compensation: Unstated
Things to note:
Any African residing in Africa or overseas may submit.
Send a pitch of not more than 300 words, a short bio, and links to your previous works to Frank via njugifrancis254@gmail.com.
The subject of the email should be ‘Culture Africa Issue 1 Pitch – Category: Title of intended submission and name of contributor’ (E.g Culture Africa Issue 1 Pitch – Art: The Ancient Masks by James Philip)
Source: Writing Africa
6. Submit to Spellbinder
Spellbinder is a quarterly literary magazine. They are currently seeking poetry, drama, fiction and creative non fiction for their next issue.
Deadline: 1st February 2025 | Honorarium: £3
Things to note:
Poetry:
Maximum of 40 lines per poem.
Maximum of 2 poems, all submitted in the same document.
Note: Free verse, formal verse and anything in between is welcome.
Note: Be aware that our magazine is published in A5 size and therefore is not the best place for poetry with very long lines.
Fiction:
Short Stories
Maximum of 3000 words.
Flash Fiction
Minimum of 100 words.
Maximum of 1000 words.
Nonfiction:
Creative Nonfiction
Maximum of 3000 words.
Flash Creative Nonfiction
Minimum of 100 words.
Maximum of 1000 words.
Note: Creative nonfiction is based on or touches on true events that happened to the author. It is usually written in a narrative style, e.g., may have a plot structure similar to a fictional story, with a crescendo before a resolution.
Drama:
Stage plays
Maximum of 5 A4 pages.
Screen plays
Maximum of 5 A4 pages.
Formatting should be as close to Final Draft as possible.
Only one submission per quarter is accepted. No AI work whatsoever.
All works should be typed in 12 point font and single-spacing.
Centre your title and number the pages of your document.
Submit all written work as a singular .doc/.docx/.odf attachment. Please name your file names as the title of your work, regardless of the file extension.
Submit in English, translations are acceptable and should be accompanied by a copy of the original text.
The sole criteria is literary quality. To this end, they welcome work that is original in its vision, is written in an engaging voice, uses evocative language, experiments with form, and that is confident in its craft regardless of subject matter.
Please submit work that is refined, polished, and that reflects your truest potential as a writer.
7. Small Harbor Publishing: The Laureate Prize
Small Harbor Publishing seeks unique and diverse voices. They are a feminist press, and we are committed to diversity and inclusion. The Laureate Prize is a print publication contest for poetry.
Deadline: February 1st 2025 | Prize: $500, Publication + 20 author copies
Things to note:
Full length books should be between 50-80 pages. Include a title page, table of contents, and a list of acknowledgments for previously published poems. Books centered around a unifying theme will be given preference.
Individual poems from the manuscript may have been published previously in magazines or chapbooks but not full length books. The collection as a whole must be unpublished.
Simultaneous submissions are permitted. Please indicate if your manuscript is accepted by another publisher while under consideration. No translations.
People of ‘colour’ are exempt from the $25 submission fee.
Include in a cover letter your name, contact information, and a brief bio.
Attach your manuscript as a word or pdf attachment. Please use the title of your book as your document name. Do not include your name or identifying information on your manuscript.
Harbor Editions will publish 1 book from the contest. Finalists may be considered for publication.
All rights revert to the author after publication.
8. Small Harbor Publishing: The Editor’s Prize
This prize is awarded once a year for a micro chapbook by Small Harbor Publishing, which seeks to publish unique and diverse voices.
Deadline: 1st February 2025, 9am | Prize: $200 + Publication
Things to note:
Micro chapbooks should be exactly 10 poems long. (Manuscripts over 10 poems will be marked "Declined").
Manuscripts should include a title page, table of contents, and use 12 point font.
Individual poems from the manuscript may have been published previously in magazines but not books or chapbooks. The collection as a whole must be unpublished.
Simultaneous submissions are permitted. Please indicate immediately if your manuscript is accepted by another publisher while under consideration.
No translations but they’d love to see collaborations.
All rights revert to the author after publication.
Prose of the Week
The Empty Chair | Aliyu Yakubu
Tiny rays of the risen sun were searing into the living room through the curtains draped over the open windows, their golden speckles strewn about the walls. Hindatu leaned over her four-year-old son, Salim, who had been lying on a settee, shivering. In her late-20s, her weighed-down appearance made her look 50.
Salim languidly stretched forth his hands; Hindatu held and massaged them gently. This was all he wanted…
Poetry of the Week
[breathe] | Emecheta Christian
words break their leashes running wild across white space
(gravity is optional here)
my thoughts float like untethered astronauts discovering that emptiness is just another word
for possibility…
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Inhlanhla lenhle! (Good luck —siSwati, Eswatini)