Ending Soon: Opportunities for African Writers
Up to ₦3.5million, Print Publication, Jobs, Contests, Commissions etc
This newsletter is published every Wednesday at 5pm WAT.
If you or someone you referred have received an acceptance for any of the opportunities listed on African Writer Weekly, please share your win to encourage the work we do!
1. 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 June 2025. | 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.
2. Nsemia Publishers Call for Short Stories
Nsemia is a Pan-African publisher focusing on Africentric writings and how they impact African people on the African continent and in the Diaspora. They are inviting short story submissions on Place and Identity for their upcoming anthology: The Eternal Sunrise and Other Short Stories from Home and Away
Deadline: 30th June 2025 | Pay: Unstated
Things to note:
Submit short stories of between 2000 to 4000 words about the places you come from, where you have lived or presently live.
Submit to submissionsunrise@gmail.com and copy info@nsemia.com
3. Midnight & Indigo: Open for Submissions from Black Women
Midnight & indigo, a literary journal celebrating Black women writers, has issued a call for submissions to review short stories and narrative essays. They publish content their tri-annual literary journals. Writers are invited to share their original, fictional, or personal stories. Stories must be character-driven and leave readers with something to think about. All genres are welcome!
Deadline: 30th June 2025 | Pay: $0.07 per word
Things to note:
They are currently accepting submissions for three categories. Click each title for specific guidelines and submission links.
Short Stories: Literary fiction delves deep into the human condition, exploring themes of identity, relationships, and the intricate nuances of everyday life. (1500-7000 words)
Personal Essays: Previously unpublished, personal and evocative first-person essays that forge an immediate connection with readers. (Min of 1200 words)
All genres and writing styles are welcome. It may be helpful to view their current short stories, essays, and literary journals to get a general sense of what we publish, but don’t be afraid to push the needle!
They do not accept work created by AI. Any submissions not entirely created by a human author will be automatically rejected.
4. 2025 Africa Wiki Challenge
Open Foundation West Africa (OFWA)’s Africa Wiki Challenge is an initiative designed to generate and enhance African content on Wikipedia, with a particular focus on issues that are central to the African history, development, achievements, and ongoing struggles. This theme of year’s edition is “Reclaiming Our Narrative: Justice for Africans and the Diaspora through Reparations.”
Deadline: 30th June 2025 | Prize: Total of GHS 27,500
Things to note:
To participate in the challenge you can:
Improve and create articles related to historical injustices, reparations, and African resilience.
Upload images and media to Wikimedia Commons to visually represent key moments in African history.
Translate content into African languages to ensure wider accessibility
Engage in edit-a-thons and training sessions to collaborate with fellow Wikimedians
Only people of African descent may participate. To enter, you will need to create a Wikipedia account.
Sign up for the contest and start creating or improving Wikipedia articles related to the theme. Relevant topics are listed here.
Additionally, join the AWC Participant Telegram page for interactions and important updates.
They encourage as many individual organisers and groups as possible to organise community events around AWC 2025. More information can be found here
Use the official hashtags: #AfricaWikiChallenge, #AWC, #AWC2025 to share your contributions and connect with fellow participants.
5. African Writers Awards 2025
The 8th Edition of the African Writers Awards is now open. This edition calls for original works of poetry and short stories based on the theme: “African Pride; A Cultural Narrative.”
Deadline: 1st July 2025 | Prize: $250
Things to note:
Submit to ONLY ONE genre. Submissions in both genres will be disqualified.
Submissions must be on theme:African Pride: A Cultural Narrative
Poetry length: 14 lines MINIMUM
Stories must be between 3,000 and 5,000 words
Entries must not have been previously published anywhere, including personal blogs.
They do not accept submissions generated by AI.
6. Call for Submissions: Planet Black Joy
Rosarium Publishing is inviting submissions for its speculative anthology Planet Black Joy to be edited by Chinelo Onwualu, Susana M. Morris, and Bill Campbell. The collection will feature about 20 to 25 short stories by women and non-binary folk who identify as Black, African, or of Afro-descendent heritage exploring and celebrating Black joy.
Deadline: 1st July 2025 | Pay: up to $560
Things to note:
“We want to showcase stories of Black joy in the fantastical and the mundane in the present, past, and the future. We’d like a variety of Black joy from catharsis to irreverence to clawing resilience out of the darkness. From Black Twitter after the Alabama Brawl to the kind of joy that has been constructed in the face of white supremacy and patriarchy. We want to know what Black joy means to you.”—RP
Send original submissions in English.
They are also open to translations and reprints.
Rates of $0.08 (USD) per word, for original short stories between 3,000 and 7,000 words long and $0.02 (USD) per word for reprints.
They’ll be asking your permission to include the work as part of the anthology in the following formats: print, digital, and Braille.
Please email your submissions as an attachment to planetblackjoy@rosariumpublishing.com
7. Submit to Shuttle Journal: Manifestations of Nigerianness
The Editorial Board of The Shuttle Journal is calling for papers and pitches from student authors for the 2024/2025 edition. This issue’s theme, “Nigerianness: Manifestations, Syncretism & Globalisation,” intends to explore how Nigerian identity is shaped, performed, and transformed through language, culture, and artistic expression in both local and global contexts.
Deadline:1st and 3rd July 2025 | Pay: unstated amount
Things to note:
Pitches for commissions should be submitted by July 1, 2025 and papers must be submitted by July 3, 2025.
Only students of higher institutions (within or outside Nigeria) may submit papers or pitches.
Send original and well-written papers of 1200–1800 words
Entrants should email their submissions to unilagnasels@gmail.com with the subject ‘Shuttle Journal Submission’.
Entrants should name their document in the format ‘Author’s Name — Title of Work’.
Entrants should send their full names, name of their school, short biography, a photograph or scanned copy of your school ID, the abstract of their paper and the strand they are submitting under in the body of your email.
To pitch for a commission, please fill this form.
For enquiries, entrants should email unilagnasels@gmail.com with the subject ‘Enquiries -Shuttle Journal’.
Possible themes: Nigerian English, Nigerian Pidgin, Contemporary Nigerian Literature, Nigerian Culture in Cultural Productions/Nigerian Cultural Productions. To see possible topics under these themes please click here.
8. The Winged Moon: Call for Submissions
The Winged Moon is a print and online publication focused on daring and experimental writing that seeks to explore the intersections of the human experience, ecology, metaphysics, spirituality and folklore. For their upcoming issue, they are seeking publications under the theme: BIOPHILIA. “Biophilia is a human’s intrinsic nature. We know it in our blood and deepest wildernesses…We once wild mammals lived with the ‘ears of a bear’ but they have gone unheard in thousands of years wide erosion. We have forgotten that we are beings-in-the world as opposed to beings-apart.”—TWM
Deadline: 3rd July 2025 | Pay: €20
Things to note:
To fully understand the theme and explore suggested texts that align with it, please read this.
Poetry (around 30 lines is the limit) please submit via form below
Prose Poetry (300 word limit) please submit via form below
Lyric Essays (1000 word limit ) please send to their email: thewingedmoonmagazine@gmail.com
Please send only ONE submission form per issue
Send a maximum of TWO written works per submission
if there are two written works, please attach two separate documents
Clearly place your name first followed by the genre followed by the title as the document name: YOUR NAME_GENRE_TITLE
Please send your writing in Garamond size 11
9. Iconic Open University is Recruiting Reporters (Nigeria)
Iconic Open University, a private open, distance, and e-Learning University in Nigeria, is expanding its digital media team and invites qualified individuals to apply for the following positions: Digital Newspaper Manager and Digital Media Reporters.
Deadline: 5th July 2025 | Type: Remote | Pay: Negotiated based on role
Things to note:
Although roles are remote, candidates must be based in indicated Nigerian states.
Digital Newspaper Manager (Kano):
Proven experience in digital publishing or editorial management.
Strong writing, editing, and leadership skills.
Proficiency in CMS (e.g., WordPress) and SEO best practices
Digital Media Reporters (Abuja, Kano, Lagos):
Background in Journalism, English, or Communications (students/recent graduates encouraged).
Strong writing skills and ability to work under tight deadlines.
Familiarity with basic photography/videography is a plus.
To apply send:
Cover Letter (specify position and location)
Updated CV/Resume.
Portfolio/Work Samples (links or attachments).
Professional References.
Click here to apply.
10. The Republic’s Student’s Writing Competition
The Republic Journal, through funding from the Open Society Foundation (OSF), is launching a student writing competition under the theme: ‘Decolonizing Artificial Intelligence’. The contest is open to undergraduates in all
Updated Deadline: 6th July 2025, 11:59pm WAT | Prize: Total of ₦3.5million + more
Things to note:
They are looking for bold, original and critical essays (1,000–1,500 words) that engage with any of the following themes:
The cultural, political and economic impact of Africa’s growing tech ecosystems.
The rise of African-led innovation in fintech, agritech, edtech, AI and healthtech.
Gender, class and geographical inequalities in access to tech opportunities.
Surveillance, digital rights, and data colonialism and decolonization in the age of Big Tech.
Diaspora investment and the tensions between local ownership and global venture capital.
Diaspora investment and the tensions between local ownership and global venture capital.
Stories/profiles of local innovators creating meaningful change with or without venture capital backing.
Impact of technology on political and geopolitical engagement.
Urgent debates on Artificial Intelligence, around topics such as climate sustainability, artistic ethics, job security and labour exploitation.
This contest is open to undergraduates in public universities (excluding final year students). Postgraduate students in public universities with at least one year left in their program, and PhD students enrolled in public universities.
Only original unpublished work is welcome.
Six Laureates will be selected and awarded prizes.
Laureates will be appointed as Republic Campus Ambassadors for the 2025–26 academic year, with a monthly stipend, merchandise and opportunities to shape The Republic’s university chapters.
To access the form and submit your entry, you must register for an account on The Republic.
Prose of the Week
Cousin-Sister | Emelda Gwitimah
When we last went to Mother’s rural home in Gutu in the early months of 1997, the river still flowed, the buses still ran on time, our money still had value and I still cared about my family. I still cared about her. No, not Mother. Her. No two people were closer than me and Her. They raised us together like brother and sister. I was only one week older than her. I was fiercely competitive with Her – the rainmaker’s wife, my cousin sister…
If you’d like your published prose featured in ‘Prose of The Week’ send an email to editor.afww@gmail.com.
Poetry of the Week
*This poem is not written in stanzas.
Ileya | Adebayo Agarau
With feathers in his throat, Baba Ngani Agba opens the morning. In that record,
he and his apala band sing about kindreds. The music wafts sonorously from our
old Kenwood speaker my father inherited from his uncle…
If you’d like your published poetry featured in ‘Poetry of The Week’ send an email to editor.afww@gmail.com.
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Jam baane (To you, goodness alone —Soninke, Mauritania)