Ending Soon: Opportunities for African Writers
Up to $1500, Workshops, Contests, Digital Publication etc
This newsletter is published every Wednesday at 5pm WAT.
1. 2025 Rajat Neogy Editorial Fellowship at A Long House
A Long House encourages Africans who love literature and the art and discipline of editing to apply for the 2025 Fellowship. The fellowship is a commitment to foster editorial talent in Africa in honour of Rajat Neogy, founding editor of Transition—early publishers of Chinua Achebe, Es’kia Mphalele, Wole Soyinka, Bessie Head, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o etc
Deadline: 30th October 2024 | Stipend: $1000
Guidelines:
Applicants must be 18 – 40 years old African residing in Africa, and must demonstrate a deep interest in African literature and the ecosystems that nurture it.
To apply, please upload a motivation letter of not more than 500 words along with your CV as a single pdf in this form.
Applicants must be ready to work with founding editors on editing works of contributors.
Manage communication with contributors.
Oversee publication schedule and curate a monthly newsletter.
Suggest and reach out to new contributors.
Work with founding editors on themed issues.
Work with A Long House team on the Long Talk and A Short Talk series.
2. Call for Submissions: The Air We Breathe
For this quarterly issue of Isele Magazine, they are seeking submissions that revolve around air pollution. “In a world where air pollution increasingly ruins our lives, health, and climate, this issue seeks to explore the multifaceted narratives surrounding this existential threat. We welcome fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, visual art, and hybrid works that explore this theme. Tell us about your personal experiences with air pollution, the resilience of life forms living in polluted environments, and your visions of a pollution-free world. Send us your hopepunk fantasies, biopunk horrors, cli-fi dystopias, and everything in between.”—Isele
Deadline: 31st October 2024 | Compensation: Unstated
How to submit:
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.
They DO NOT publish previously published works (by this, they mean any piece that has appeared on the web or in print, including your personal blog).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 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 Paris Review
The Paris Review is a literary magazine, founded in 1953, featuring original writing, art, and in-depth interviews with famous writers.
Deadline: 31st October 2024 | Pay: Unstated
How to submit:
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 or one piece of prose at a time, and please do not submit more than once per submission period.
During the month of October, you may submit in the categories of both poetry and prose, but we ask that you submit only once per genre.
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.
4. Shallow Tales Review: Open for Submissions
The Shallow Tales Review accepts fiction, creative non-fiction, book reviews, poems, one-act plays, cultural and social essays, art photographs, and translations that touch on the sensibilities of the African.
Deadline: 31st October 2024 | Compensation: publication
Literary criticisms must concern texts that are of modern and African temperament. By “modern,” we refer to books published at most 5 years before.
For essays, they expect themes to be tackled logically and as clearly as possible.
They DO NOT publish horror, sci-fi, travellogues or any sociological piece without the slightest literary tilt. They could, however, break the rules for exceptionally great pieces that reflect the African/human condition.
Entries should be sent in by mail to:
poetry.tstr@gmail.com
essays.tstr@gmail.com (Essays & Creative Nonfiction)
theshallowtalesreview@gmail.com (Fiction/Plays/Art & Photography)Use “TSTR Submissions” in the subject line.
Files should be saved with the title of the work, and in the case of a body of poems, with the first poem in the file.
Word count: 1500-4000 words, in .doc or .docx format.
Poetry submissions: not be more than forty (40) lines, per poem. They accept a maximum of three poetry entries at a time.
Entries must be sent single-spaced in 12 point, Times New Roman font.
Only previously unpublished works would be reviewed and considered.
Reprints are NOT allowed.
In the body of the mail, include a short cover letter describing the genre of the work, word count (for prose), number of poems included (for poetry), short author bio, and any other relevant information relating to the piece.
Do not add any identifying information in the document with the entry.
5. Submit to The Dodge
The Dodge is a literary magazine based in Wooster, Ohio, at the College of Wooster. They are seeking your best work in eco-writing, writing about animals, and translation on these themes. They are especially eager to read about other less explicable creatures as well. Eco-writing as they see it can include minerals, fungi, forests, insects, fire, etc.
Deadline: 31st October 2024 | Pay: Unstated
Guidelines:
Submit your work in .docx or PDF; Times New Roman, 12 point font. Double-space prose submissions. Single-space poetry is fine.
Fiction up to 8000 words. They are open to flash and micro fiction.
Nonfiction up to 7000 words.
Poetry up to 5 poems in one document.
Translation: Submit up to 8 poems in translation or 20 pages of prose. Submission of the work in the original language and permission from the writer is required. A short (2 page max) introduction to the writer and their work can also be included, plus an intro of the translator(s).
Do not include identifying information on your manuscript.
Cover letters are optional for all genres except translation.
Please include content notes for any material in your submission for which you think readers may appreciate advance notice. Examples include: violence, sexual assault, racism, suicide, self-harm.
They accept simultaneous submissions, but withdraw your piece on Submittable promptly if it is accepted elsewhere.
Once you have submitted work, please wait to receive a response from the editors on that submission before submitting again.
They aim to respond within 3-6 months. If you have not heard from us after 6 months, feel free to reach out.
Click your preferred category to submit: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Translation.
6. Submit to Brick
Brick is an international literary journal published twice a year out of Toronto. They publish publishes Nonfiction, Review, Interview, Translation. “Brick prides itself on publishing the best literary non-fiction in the world, and we are eager to read your impeccable and compelling non-fiction submissions. We crave pieces with formal integrity that take creative approaches to rich ideas.”—B
Deadline: 31st October | Pay: Up to CA$720
Things to note:
They routinely reach our Submittable-imposed cap of free submissions well before the submission period ends. Please submit early.
They consider only finished, polished literary non-fiction submissions.
Submissions must be previously unpublished.
They will read simultaneous submissions, but please let them know and withdraw your piece if your manuscript is accepted for publication elsewhere.
Please only submit one piece at a time. Please wait for a response before sending them other work to consider. Multiple submissions will be automatically rejected.
While Brick does not set a word limit, they tend toward a range of 1,000–5,000 words. Whatever the length, the piece must be exemplary.
Response time is slow and they ask you allow up to a year for them to respond to your submission.
To submit, click here.
7. 2024 Abebi Award for Creative Nonfiction
This award shines a much needed light on creative nonfiction, especially personal narrative written by Nigerian and African Women. For the second edition, they are inviting Nigerian women, 18 and above who were born in, grew up in, or have significant lived experience within and proximity to the country to submit their most powerful story.
Deadline: 1st November 2024, 6pm WAT | Prize: Up to N200,000
Things to note:
The award is open to writers who have not published a complete body of work (such as a memoir or a novel through a publishing house), and will not have done so by December 2024.
All entries should be creative nonfiction: i.e. real life stories derived from true events from the writer’s life. They are not looking for academic, scholarly or purely journalistic pieces of work. They believe in the revolutionary power of personal narrative and so we would love to read essays that delve deep into emotional interiorities, family relations, gendered expectations, patriarchal conditioning and triumph. This does not mean essays must be sad, or political but that they depict the complexities of what it is to move as a woman in this country/continent. You can see last year's winning entries for model examples of the kind of work they're looking for
All entries should be within the range of 1,500–3,000 words in length.
The winner, runner up and three notable entries will be invited to a two-day all expense paid writer’s residency in Lagos, in December.
A winner will be announced in the second week of December 2024, along with a runner up and three notable entries.
8. Submit to Harbor Review
Harbor Review is a feminist press whose goal is to address gender parity and marginalization in publishing. They aim to promote new, diverse voices. They are interested in language that shocks, inspires, confounds. ‘We want to see your strange and beautiful imaginings.’ Harbor Review.
Deadline: 1st November 2024. | Pay: $10 per poem
Guidelines:
Send 1-3 poems in one document as a pdf or word document.
Include a short bio in your cover letter.
9. Àtẹ́lẹwọ́ Prize for Yorùbá Literature 2025
ÀTẸ́LẸWỌ́ Cultural Initiative was founded on the 1st of June, 2017 as a response to the many challenges facing the preservation of Yorùbá culture and language. The 5th edition of the annual “ÀTẸ́LẸWỌ́ PRIZE FOR YORÙBÁ LITERATURE.” This is a special edition to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Prize. The competition is open to previously unpublished works in Yorùbá language.
Deadline: 1st November 2024 | Prize: N1,000,000
How to enter:
Each work submitted must be a. POETRY b. PROSE c. DRAMA or d. TRANSLATION
The prize is only open to writers who haven’t published the novel, play, or book length collection of poems written in Yorùbá as at the time of this prize. This means that submitted works must not have been previously published anywhere, whether in physical book format, social media platforms or any digital book platform.
Writers interested in submitting for the prize must be at least of 18 years old.
All entries must be properly tone-marked with correct diacritics.
One writer. One Work. One Entry.
Requirements: 50-100 pages or more (1.0 spacing, font size 12)– in a Microsoft Word document format ONLY.
For Translation works, you can either translate Yorùbá books into English language, or you can translate other languages into Yorùbá language, but they encourage you to translate into Yorùbá language.
All the works you will be translating MUST be in the public domain in line with the copyright laws of Nigeria and if they are not, you must get express permission from the author or publisher of said work. Evidence of this should be attached to your submission.
Previous winners are not eligible to submit entries. By previous winners, we mean anyone whose name appears on the various shortlists below from 2021 till date.
10. Evaristo Prize for African Poetry
This annual prize was established first as the Brunel International African Poetry Prize (BIAPP) in 2012 by British writer Bernardine Evaristo, who founded and managed the prize for ten years, the Evaristo Prize was renamed and passed on to be managed by the African Poetry Book Fund in 2022. The Prize is open to African writers. An “African writer” is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, who is a national or resident of an African country, or whose parents are African.
Deadline: 1st November 2024 | Prize: $1500
Things to note:
The prize is open to African poets who have not yet had a full-length poetry book published at the time of submission. Self-published poetry books, chapbooks, and pamphlets are exempt from this stipulation.
Only poems written in English can be considered, but we welcome poems in translation for consideration too.
No past or present paid employees of the University of Nebraska Press, Akashic Books, or Amalion Press, or current faculty, students, or employees at the University of Nebraska are eligible for the prizes.
Send manuscripts of 10 poems, no more and no less.
Poems must be the original work of the entrant and be no longer than 40 lines each.
Times New Roman or Arial, 12-point font, single-spaced.
One poem per page, meaning a new poem does not begin on the same page on which another ends. The entire submission must be in black ink, no colors.
Poems must be submitted in a single document without any identifying information included.
The Submittable cover letter, which will be concealed to screeners and judges, should include the entrants’ name, nationality, country of birth, full address including country of permanent residence, personal email address and telephone number.
Prose of the Week
The Story of How You Died | Simbiat Haroun
We had just settled into bed when we heard you climbing up the wall.
Our beds were soft, and the covers, pulled up to our chins. Grandma, after telling us a bedtime story – the one about the time Ijapa went up to heaven and ate all the food – had gone to her room, eager to retire. We smelled the death approaching her body, and sadness crept onto us as we watched her limp her way to the door. Grandma was always convinced that we could not see her in the darkness.
You were struggling to pull yourself over the fence when we saw you…
If you’d like your prose featured in ‘Prose of The Week’ send an email to editor.afww@gmail.com.
Poetry of the Week
We Lived Long In The Mountains | Amara Amaryah
And in doing so, lost the sacred art of naming ourselves, again.
We no longer rise with the sun, forget that we’re of warm blood, of herbs that need Heat, forget still to wrap our heads on the sabbath and to bathe the soles with oils…
If you’d like your poetry featured in ‘Poetry of The Week’ send an email to editor.afww@gmail.com.
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Omé (It is well—Esan, Edo State, Nigeria)
Welldone