March Opportunities for African Writers
Up to $2000, Book Deals, Competitions, Grants, Digital Publication etc
This newsletter is published every Wednesday at 5pm WAT
1. Call for Pitches: Carefree Magazine
Carefree is digital magazine where black women around the world to share their stories on life, love, adventure, and everything in-between. They are currently accepting pitches on stories with a strong voice, humour, and narrative. Only black women authors are invited to pitch.
Deadline: Unstated | Pay: Unstated amount
Things to note:
Topics they’re interested in:
Motherhood/being childfree
Solo Travel Adventures
Quitting a job with no plan/being laid off
Navigating a new city/abroad
Unconventional career journeys
Friendship (high/low maintenance)
Late Bloomers
Finding Community
For more, see here.
Send your pitch to hello@carefreemag.com
Projected word count for your story should be between 1000-1800
2. Submit to Swim Press
Swim Press is inviting submissions from new and emerging writers under the theme, Motion. “You can set your life in motion, or you can stop completely. to walk, to run, to stand still; to leap through time, past, present, and future. in the name of progress, in the name of change. our lives our in motion, everything is in motion, even the planet we live on, spinning quietly in space.”—SP
Deadline: 2nd March | Compensation: None
Guidelines:
To submit your work to swim press, please send an email to submit.swimpress@gmail.com with the subject line "swim press submission"
Please include in the body of the email: your full name and/or pen name, email address, a brief description of your work, why you think it fits the theme, as well as a word count.
Submissions should come as docx.
They accept written submissions from new and emerging writers, by which they mean writers with a maximum of 7 previous publications.
They accept poetry, flash fiction, short fiction, and non-fiction.
poetry: 1-5 poems per author
flash fiction: 1-4 pieces with a max. word count of 600 words per piece
short story: 2 pieces of short fiction with a max. word count of 2000 words per piece.
non-fiction: 2 pieces of non-fiction with max. word count of 2000 words per piece.
They will accept previously published material so long as it is only featured on a personal blog or social media page. any work previously published in a professional capacity will not be accepted
Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Please withdraw your work if accepted elsewhere.
3. Call for Story Pitches: “To Be Seen is To be Heard”
Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA) is on a mission to uplift the voice and power of African women, girls, and gender-expansive persons. They’re looking for stories around issues related to sexual and reproductive health and rights, politics, civic space, economic justice and climate justice. Stories that explore the interlinkages and the interconnectedness of these issues through an African feminist lens will be prioritized. They are looking to the untold, invisible, emerging, forgotten or deliberately suppressed stories.
Deadline: 7th March 2025 | Prize: Up to $2000
Things to note:
They’re offering 10-15 storytellers grants (between $500 - $2,000) to bring their vision to life. Whether it's a article, podcast, video, short film, photo series, or poetry.
Applicable themes:
Untold stories
Stories of women and girls who’ve been ‘forgotten’/sidelined-marginalised communities
Issues around access to SRHR
Women and the law (SRHR bill, marriage bill, Reproductive Healthcare Bill, Court Rulings & Judgments)
Debunking disinformation with an African feminist lens
To pitch, please fill this form.
4. Call for Authors: Story Walk Project
Women Achievers Africa is launching Story Walk Project, an initiative deisgned to bring books to life in public spaces, schools and local communities. They’re looking for African authors whose work highlights African culture & heritage, children, gender equality and women empowerment, African folklore and history.
Deadline: unstated | Prize: unstated amount
Things to note:
Submit your work or proposal to hello@womenachievers.africa
5. Free Submissions to Split Lip Magazine
Split Lip Magazine is a voice-driven literary journal with a pop culture twist. They publish online monthly and in print periodically. They accept fiction (flash and short stories), memoir, and poetry. They are waiving submission fees for Black writers.
Deadline: Until Cap is Reached | Pay: up to $75
Things to note:
One submission per writer at a time, please. That means if you submit a poem, you can’t also submit flash, etc. You get the picture.
They accept simultaneous submissions. But please withdraw your piece immediately if it’s accepted elsewhere.
Double space your work.
Send as doc and .docx files, although a PDF is okay in a pinch.
Word count
Memoir: max 2000 words
Flash Fiction: max 1000 words
Poetry: send just one
Fiction: 1000-3000 words
6. Submit to Mudroom
MudRoom is a triannual journal of poetry and prose. Their mission is to provide every writer, emerging and established, the opportunity to both see their work published and engage with a larger literary community.
Deadline: 25th March 2025 | Prize: $15
Things to note:
Poetry:
MudRoom publishes poetry of all types. You can email poetry submissions to mud.room.submissions@gmail.com.
To submit, please send 3-5 original, previously unpublished poems in a single .DOC/.DOCX .ODT or PDF file with one poem per page (eight pages maximum).
Indicate POETRY SUBMISSION in your subject line. Submissions without "Poetry Submission" in the subject line will be deleted. You may also include a brief cover letter/third-person bio in the body of your email.
Prose:
Mudroom publishes fiction, essays, and essays in translation. You can email prose submissions to mud.room.submissions@gmail.com.
To submit, please send a previously unpublished work no longer than 6,000 words in double spaced 12-point Times New Roman font. All works should be attached in a single .DOC/.DOCX .ODT or PDF file
Please indicate PROSE SUBMISSION in your subject line. Submissions without "Prose Submission" in the subject line will be deleted. You may also include a brief cover letter/third-person bio in the body of your email.
7. Masobe Books: Call for Manuscripts
Masobe Books, a leading publisher in Nigeria, committed to promoting diverse voices and compelling narratives, is pleased to announce the opening of a 2024 submissions window for new manuscripts. This exciting opportunity is aimed at discovering fresh voices in literature from the African Continent.
Deadline: 31st March 2025. | Compensation: Book deal
Things to note:
Please note that only ONE submission per writer is allowed. Multiple submissions may lead to disqualification.
While they encourage submissions from all genres of literary fiction and non-fiction, we are particularly on the lookout for ROMANCE.
You will be required to attach a one-page synopsis of the work you are submitting in Microsoft Word. Please include all major plot points in your synopsis, including spoilers, and especially the end.
You will be required to attach a sample of the work in question. This should be the first 3 chapters or first 3 stories of your manuscript in Microsoft Word.
Send your manuscript sample in double-spaced, indented paragraph, justified only. They prefer Courier New font type with a font size of 12pt.
Your submission will be acknowledged and assessed by our editors. We will respond within twelve weeks IF AND ONLY IF we are provisionally interested in publishing your work, after which we would ask for more of your material. If after reading the rest of the work and we find it to our taste and cut, we would then present you with an offer.
Masobe Books is not accepting unsolicited poetry submissions or plays at this time.
To Submit, fill this form.
8. Now Open: Application to The Loveliest Review Fellowship
The Loveliest Journal is a petite, hand-bound journal featuring 7 genres/artists (Poetry/CNF/Fiction/Play/Photography/Art/Lyrics). They have recently launched a fellowship for each of these genres and are open to applications on the theme of Justice. “We want your Acts of Advocacy -Pursuits of Peace & Nonprejudices -Rebellions without Regrets -Fairness & Freedoms -Protests against Passivity -Foretellings of a Positive Future”—LR
Deadline: 1st April 2025 | Compensation: $1000
Things to note:
To apply, you’ll need:
Work Sample: 5-25 pages of your fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama or reviews.
Send an email to theloveliestreview@gmail.com.
[Subject Line: (Applicant Name) The Loveliest Fellowship Application]
Include a brief cover letter.
9. The Tampered Manuscript Prize
Tampered Press is pleased to announce that The Tampered Press Manuscript Prize, an award for a book-length work of literary fiction written in English by published and unpublished Ghanaian writers. The prize is awarded for a book-length work of literary fiction written in English by a Ghanaian author primarily residing in Ghana.
Date: 5th April 2025 | Prize: ₵20000 + simultaneous publication in Ghana & Nigeria
Things to note:
Open to writers of Ghanaian nationality who currently reside in Ghana.
Submissions must be unpublished.
Entries must be primarily in English, though manuscripts that creatively incorporate Ghanaian languages are encouraged.
Manuscripts must be between (40,000 and 60,000 words).
The judges for the prize are: Yewande Omotoso (The Woman Next Door and An Unusual Grief), and Ayesha Harruna Attah (The Hundred Wells of Salaga and The Deep Blue Between).
Submissions open on the 1st of March, and this page will be updated with the submission link.
10. Iskanchi Book Prize
The Iskanchi Book Prize celebrates outstanding prose and hybrid manuscripts. We seek work that is irreverent, nonconforming, and experimental—manuscripts that challenge stereotypes about African writing, celebrate diverse voices, and offer nuanced stories about African immigrants and minorities. The prize is open to both emerging and established African writers worldwide.
Deadline: 21st April 2025| Prize: $1,000 + book publication
Things to note:
Manuscript Format: Submit a completed prose or hybrid manuscript in PDF or Word (.doc/.docx) format
Include a short writer's bio (max 150 words) in the body of your email
Email Subject: "Iskanchi Book Prize Submission" (This allows them to track and read all your submissions. Submissions without this subject line may be lost).
Multiple Submissions are not allowed. Send only one Manuscript.Simultaneous Submissions: Allowed, but notify them immediately if your manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
Language: English or translations (with permissions).
Prose of the Week
Osimiri: The Reckoning | Tehila Okagbue
Amaechi's daughter Olaedo was sick for the third Eke season in a row. Some villagers in Edemede rumored she was also an ogbanje like the rest of her siblings, who had died in the previous Eke seasons, and had escaped death one too many times. Others whispered that Amaechi was a cursed man who had wronged the gods, and whose past evil deeds had doomed his children to die every Eke season. They swore that he killed his wife out of frustration following the death of his three children, and they were sure his favorite daughter, Olaedo, would soon have death welcoming her this Eke season.
But I disagreed. I had been watching Amaechi since I moved to Edemede in search of a new life…
If you’d like your prose featured in ‘Prose of The Week’ send an email to editor.afww@gmail.com.
Poetry of the Week
Three Poem Suite | Ntombi Kayise Mhlambi
now it’s time to throat it down,
you’ve taken a look at you many times
you watched your braids dance spiral-spiral shadows
you’re only here because your eyes are not moving with my hands anymore,
how many sunsets before the hole inside your chest closes?
nothing closes unless you make your baby hands do it
your nails are long and it’s time to cut through the grass.
there goes a car, after running-krrrrrrrr onto a golden muselet
if i were you, i would stop staring at a crushed crown and run after the car with a wheel on the back.
If you’d like your poetry featured in ‘Poetry of The Week’ send an email to editor.afww@gmail.com.
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Osande! (Good fortune— Umbundu, Angola)