Ending Soon: Opportunities for African Writers
Up to $40,000, Contests, Paid Travel, Digital Publication, Scholarship
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1. HerStry: Call for Personal Essays
HerStry centers the experiences of women by publishing personal essays. Personal essays are a way for writers to tell the stories they want to tell. There are no rules. No themes. As long as the story is true and about you, they want to read it. Nothing is off limits.
Deadline: 30th November 2024 | Pay: $10 per piece
Things to note:
Stories must be true, about you and previously unpublished.
Stories must be between 500 - 3,000 words
Stories should be double spaced, with 12pt font, Times New Roman or Calibri
Stories are read blind. Please DO NOT put any identifying material on your manuscript. Manuscripts that don’t follow this rule will be automatically disqualified without being read.
Stories must be submitted as word documents of some sort. PDFs will not be considered.
Stories must be submitted with a short bio and photo of the author
No poetry.
When you click the link, scroll to the end to find this no-fee submission.
2. The Safal Kiswahili Prize for African Literature
Founded in 2014 by Dr. Lizzy Attree (Short Story Day Africa) and Dr. Mukoma wa Ngugi (Cornell University) as The Safal-Cornell Kiswahili Prize for Africa Literature, the prize was established to recognise writing in African languages and encourage translation from, between, and into African languages. For the 8th edition they are calling for prose manuscripts from writers of East Africa and anywhere worldwide who write in Kiswahili, especially women writers.
Deadline: 30th Nov. 2024 | Prize: Total of $15,000
How to enter:
Please send unpublished manuscripts (fiction, poetry, plays, memoir and graphic novels) to: kiswahiliprize@kiswahiliprize.org.
Prose submissions should be limited to between 40,000 – 60,000 words.
3. 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All submissions must be written in Kiswahili and previously unpublished in part or whole.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".
4. Broken Sleep Books: Call for Poetry Pamphlets
Broken Sleep Books are a working-class, small, innovative press, who publish a range of poetry and prose, from a range of writers. Our primary focus is in increasing access to the arts, in ensuring more people are able to engage with creativity regardless of their socioeconomic status.
Deadline: 30th November 2024 | Compensation: Publication + 10% royalties etc
Guidelines:
Pages: Poetry collections = 40+
Poetry pamphlets = 15-40
Non-fiction prose = 40-150 (send a sample of 40-70 pages)
Please send as a Word document or PDF. Please do not put your work in the body of the email or send .pages, links to websites or file transfer sites - these will be deleted.
Size 10 font for main text.
Simultaneous submissions ok - but please indicate if this is the case in your email.
All submissions considered, regardless of location.
Collaborative submissions are considered.
Wildcard submissions are intended for all books that don't fit into the other window specifications.
They are happy to look at translations - but keep in mind that they do facing-page and would require both the original language and the translated language.
Email: Include a short biography and brief synopsis, in the body of an email.
For poetry, please list any poetic influences or poets you admire.
Subject: [Poetry pamphlet/Poetry collection/Non-fiction/Wildcard] Submission - [Name], [Title]
Send your email to submissions@brokensleepbooks.com
5. Submit to Qwani 03
Qwani is Kenyan-based vibrant youth-led initiative, serving as a dynamic platform for emerging writers. It celebrates diversity in literature. They are seeking poems, short stories, essays, sheng, reviews and plays around the 2024 Kenyan Protests, for an upcoming issue.
Deadline: 30th November 2024, 11:59 EAT | Pay: None
How to submit:
Kindly fill this form to submit.
For Prose, they accept pieces between 500-4000 words. Pieces of less
than 1000 words should be labeled as flash fiction.
For poetry, there is a line limit of 100. No lower limit. Haikus are allowed (a minimum of 3).
Maximum of 3 submissions per person
Only submissions except shaped poetry (PDF) should be in a Microsoft Word Document.
6. Submit to Nimrod International Journal
Nimrod International Journal welcomes submissions of poetry and short fiction. They publish two issues annually, and both issues contain work accepted as general submissions throughout the year.
Deadline: 30th November 2024 | Pay: Up to $300
Things to note:
All submissions should be previously unpublished.
Poetry: Submit up to 7 pages of poetry
All poems should be included in a single file, no more than one poem per page
Please include your name in the body of your manuscript
Fiction: submit 5,000 words maximum
Stories should be double-spaced
Please include your name in the body of your manuscript
Click here to submit.
7. Khoreo Magazine: Call for Speculative Fiction
Khōréō is dedicated to diversity and amplifying the voices of immigrant and diaspora authors and artists. They are currently seeking submissions under the theme: Symbiosis. They welcome, but do not require, a brief description of the author’s identity in their cover letter.
Deadline: 30th November 2024 | Pay: Up to $500
Guidelines:
Please format your story using the Shunn modern manuscript format (details at this link: https://www.shunn.net/format/story/).
Writers may omit their mailing address for submission, but accepted stories will require a mailing address for our contracts.
Please submit based on length — stories ≤1,500 words should go into the flash queue, while stories 1,501-5,000 words should go into the short story queue.
Writers may submit one story each to the Flash and Short Story queues every submission period.
8. 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.
9. Apply to Gulliver’s Travel Grant for Speculative Fiction
Since 2004, the Gulliver Travel Grant has been awarded annually to assist writers of speculative literature in their non-academic research. These funds are used to cover airfare, lodging, and other travel expenses. Travel may be domestic or international. You may apply for travel to take place at any point in the following year. This grant is intended to help writers working with speculative literature.
Deadline: 30th November 2024 | Prize: $1000
How to apply:
Required materials include:
A cover letter: Include a one-page written description of the project, including details on the travel location and an estimated completion date (no more than 500 words), and a bibliography of previously published work, if applicable. Applicants need not have prior publishing credits to apply.
A writing sample: Up to 10 pages of poetry, 10 pages of drama, or 5,000 words of fiction or creative nonfiction. If you are sending a segment of a novel, novella, or novelette, please include a one-page synopsis as the first page of the document. The submitted work must be speculative.
Fill the form below to apply
10. Submit Poetry to The Shore
The Shore is an online poetry publication seeking cutting, strange, and daring work from new and established poets alike. They want poems that explore the worlds of things and ideas, that recognize the liminality, the shifting of everything around us and our ability to name a thing whole.
Deadline: 1st December 2024 | Pay: unstated
Guidelines:
Email 3-5 poems in a single document in .doc or .docx format to theshorepoetry@gmail.com
Subject line: “Last Name_First Name THE SHORE submission” with a cover letter and third-person bio included in the body of the email.
They accept simultaneous submissions as long as you notify them if the piece is accepted elsewhere, but they do not accept reprints. Upon acceptance, please withdraw your poems from other consideration.
Please only submit once per reading period.
11. 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.
12. Submit Fiction to Naira Stories
Naira Stories is a new Nigerian-based literary magadine, is thrilled to announce a call for the magazine is published three times a year. The first edition of each year is a collection of short fiction, the second edition of each year is a collection of short creative non-fiction, and the third edition of each year is a collection of short memoirs.
Deadline: 5th December 2024 | Pay: N25,000 per story + 2 magazine copies
Things to note:
Entries should be short literary fiction. Fantasy, science fiction, romance, crime, mystery, children's literature, etc., may not be accepted.
Entries must be in English and must be original and unpublished in any form.
Entries must be formatted in Times New Roman 12-point font, with 1.5 line spacing. The text of the story should be justified.
Entries must be in a Microsoft Word (MS) document. The header of the document must bear the title of the story, the name of the author, and page numbers.
Entries should be 4500 - 5000 words. Anything outside this word limit may not be
accepted.
Only one entry per author.
Entries must be sent via attachment to submissions@nairatimes.com. The subject of the email should be 'Naira Short Fiction', followed by the title of the story and the name of the author. Example: Naira Short Fiction - *A Home Too Near' by Bayo Chukwu.
Entries should be accompanied by a cover letter (containing the name, address, email, and phone number of the author), the title and word count of the story, and a short bio (not more than 100 words) of the author in the body of the email.
13. Apply to Study Global Black Literatures at UW-Madison
The Department of English at UW-Madison is offering a fully funded scholarship for a PhD in Global Black Literatures. Ph.D. students typically receive five or six years of guaranteed funding through a combination of fellowships, assistantships, scholarships and progress-to-degree awards. Students also receive tuition remission, a robust healthcare plan and are eligible for up to $2,000 of professional development/travel funds per year, along with other forms of financial support.
Deadline: 8th December 2024 | Scholarship: Up to $40,000 per year
How to apply:
Read through application information on the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School and open an application.
Prepare and submit required materials online via the Graduate School application form, including transcripts, recommendations, test scores, and a “Reasons for Graduate Study” statement.
For international students, please consult the “International Students” page for further information.
Application materials will be reviewed by English Department and Graduate School faculty and staff upon receipt. You can read about their evaluation criteria and process here.
Prose of the Week
Kana K’iwacu (Children of Pain) | Patrick Shyaka
Musa lived alone by choice, but now he lived among people who’d lost their loved ones despite their choices. It was the beginning of the end. The year was 1994, and for the rest of the world, Kurt Cobain had just committed suicide, and Forrest Gump had become a massive box office success.
If you’d like your prose featured in ‘Prose of The Week’ send an email to editor.afww@gmail.com.
Poetry of the Week
The Quest for Joy in a Modern World | Taiwo Hassan
these days, i’m a china on the tip of a cupboard,
one push away from breaking, peace in pieces.
i see the shattered shards already, a vessel after vertigo,
that split second of silence, i perceive the flames in me.
nothing burns more than a hungry soul…
If you’d like your poetry featured in ‘Poetry of The Week’ send an email to editor.afww@gmail.com.
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Rombo rakanaka (Good luck—Shona, Zimbabwe)