Paying Gigs for African Writers
Up to $100,000, Contests, Digital Publication, Open Pitches
This newsletter is published every Wednesday at 5pm WAT.
1. Closing Soon: Omenana Speculative Fiction Magazine
Omenana is a tri-monthly magazine that publishes speculative fiction from Africa and the African diaspora. They focus on stories, art and essays that explore the rich cultural heritage of the continent and its people, while also embracing the fantastical and imaginative elements of science fiction, fantasy, and other genres.
Deadline: 20th February 2025 | Pay: $20 per story
Things to note:
All work must be submitted by e-mail to sevenhills.media@yahoo.com as a single attachment in one of the following file formats: .doc, .docx, .rtf, .odt.
Include a cover letter in the body of your e-mail providing your contact details (name – not the pseudonym you write under – address, email and phone number), a brief publication history, a bio of no more than 100 words and a profile photo.
Both fiction and non-fiction should please follow this Standard Manuscript Format.
Short fiction should be no more than 5,000 words.
Creative non-fiction and essays should be no more than 3,000 words.
Flash fiction pieces should not exceed 1,000 words each.
Reviews should be between 800 and 2,000 words.
Please don’t send revised drafts of works that you have previously submitted, unless they specifically ask for them.
2. Pitch to Feminist Food Journal
Feminist Food Journal is an online magazine dedicated to a ‘feminist food future’. They are currently seeking pitches under the theme ‘Celebrate’. “With CELEBRATE, we want to look at celebration — conviviality, commensality, the elevation of the everyday, and the reverence of the sacred — as a radical act: an act of self-care, of community-building, of political resistance. We’re curious about how to harness the power of celebration for wider change, but also how celebration makes a difference at a micro-level, including for how we feel at home in ourselves.”—FFJ
Deadline: 28th February 2025 | Prize: Up to $130
Things to note:
They’re looking for pitches that use the theme to make wider points about the culture and politics of the present day, covering topics like: the power and politics of dinner parties, gendered dynamics of celebrations, being forced to celebrate etc. For more subtopics, see here.
They publish stories in myriad mediums and formats: personal essay/memoir, long-form narrative, recipes, poetry, interviews, podcasts, and videos. In your pitch, please state what format you’re planning to work with and the piece’s approximate length (words if written, minutes if audio).
Please send all pitches to pitch@feministfoodjournal.com, and make sure the subject line specifies that the email is a pitch for CELEBRATE.
3. Submit to Nalubaale Review
Nalubaale publishes fiction, non-fiction, essays, poetry, short dramas, photos, and memes from new and established African writers. Submissions are now open for their 2024 Edition on the themes: Departure / Survival.
Deadline: 28th Feb 2024 | Pay: unstated
Things to note:
A maximum of three poems per applicant of not more than two pages long each.
A limit of two short stories per applicant.
All submissions should be on the themes stated above that is; Departure / Survival.
Short stories between 1000- 5000 words.
Essays between 2000- 4000 words.
Submission should be in Microsoft Word or PDF format.
Choose typing font: Times New Roman, Georgia or Arial, 13, single spacing.
Send applications to: nalubaalereview@gmail.com.
4. Call for essays: “Migration and the Writer” – The Lagos Review
The Lagos Review is seeking insightful, poignant, detailed, and well-written essays in which the writer expresses his/her/their motive for relocation or migration and the effect of that movement on their craft. “What does migration mean for us as writers, many of whom have made the journey across the seas to acquire knowledge, escape oppression, flee conflict or seek a better life?”
Deadline: Unstated | Compensation: $250
Guidelines:
They are looking for essays of 2,500 words maximum.
Please send your submissions to submissions@thelagosreview.ng
with the subject line - Migration and the Writer + Title of your piece.
Essays will be published monthly and the author, upon acceptance
of his/her/their work for publication, invests in thelagosreview.ng
the right to publish same in a book if and where the quality of writing
demands.
5. Submit Speculative Fiction to Flash Point
Flash Point is a speculative fiction magazine that publishes flash fiction. They are looking for short stories of up to 1000 words in the fantasy or science fiction genre.
Deadline: 31st March 2025 | Pay: up to $20
Things to note:
Send between 100 and 1000 words
In terms of how your story should look, they recommend you read William Shunn’s Proper Manuscript Format.
Send as a .doc or .docx file
They do not accept unsolicited reprints. Even if it was posted on a personal blog or website, so long as it’s public anyone who has access to the internet can read it, and that qualifies as publication.
No simultaneous submissions. No multiple submissions.
They do not publish horror, literary fiction, gratuitous sex or violence, fanfic or translations.
6. Submit to Doek
Doek! Literary Magazine is a free, independent, and Pan-African online literary magazine produced in Windhoek, Namibia. They are currently seeking poetry and fiction for their 15th issue.
Date: 31st March 2025 | Pay: unstated
Things to note:
Only Namibians or foreign nationals living in Namibia are welcome to submit.
Writers must be 18 and above.
Fiction can be of any genre but must be narrative-driven .
All submissions must be in English but writers and poets may use words or phrases from any of Namibia’s indigenous languages provided their meaning can be understood within the text (without resort to glossaries or footnotes).
Submissions, including poetry, may not exceed 4500 words. The minimum word count for fiction is 1500 words; there is no minimum word count for poetry.
Fiction writers can only submit one (1) piece of writing per submission window.
Poets may submit up to five (5) poems in one document per submission window.
Submissions must be typed: Times New Roman, 12 pt, 2.0 line spacing.
The submitted document should only contain the title and the body text of the submission. No identifying details (name, contact number, or email address) may be used in the filename or be placed anywhere in the submission document.
Submissions can be sent in any of the following formats: Microsoft Word (.docx and .doc), Rich Text Format (.rtf), and plain text (.txt).
Writers and poets cannot submit to or be considered for two or more categories at any given point in time.
To submit, kindly fill this form.
7. The Nigerian Prize for Literature 2025: Prose Fiction
Entries are hereby invited for The Nigeria Prize for Literature. The yearly literature prize is sponsored by NLNG to honour the author of the best book by a Nigerian. The prize rotates among four literary genres - Prose Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Children's Literature. This year, the competition is for Prose Fiction.
Deadline: 2nd April 2025 (11:59, GMT) | Prize: $100,000
Things to note:
All applicants must submit their entries accompanied by this application form from NLNG’s website.
Completed forms must be printed and submitted along with the entries.
Twelve (12) copies of entry and an e-copy of each entry, with evidence of Nigerian
citizenshid (photocopy of Nigerian Dassport or National dentitv Card), mav be
submitted either by the author or publisher .Books should he submitted to NING's External Relations Division, promoters of the prize, by the stipulated deadline.
No book published before 2022 will be accepted.
No unpublished work will be accepted.
Entries may be sent to the following addresses:
The Nigerian Prize for Literature Secretariat. Internal Relations Division, NLNG Corporate Head Office, NLNG Road, Eastern By-Pass, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
The Nigerian Prize for Literature Secretariat. External Relations Division, NLNG Lagos transit office, 38 Oduduwa Crescent, G.R.A, Ikeja, Lagos.
The Nigerian Prize for Literature Secretariat, External Relations Division, NLNG London Liaison Office, 4th Floor, Heron House, 10 Dean Farrar Street, London SW1H ODX
8. NLNG Prize for Literary Criticism: Prose Fiction
Entries are hereby invited for The Nigeria Prize for Literary Criticism. The yearly prize is sponsored by NLNG to honour the author of the best critical work. This year’s prize will be awarded to critiques of prose fiction.
Deadline: 2nd April 2025 (11:59, GMT) | Prize: $10,000
Things to note:
All applicants must submit their entries accompanied by this application form from NLNG’s website.
Completed forms must be printed and submitted along with the entries.
All applicants must submit three (3) literary criticism works on Prose Fiction tor the prize
No work published before 2021 will be accepted.
Entries should be sent to:
The Nigerian Prize for Literature Secretariat. Internal Relations Division, NLNG Corporate Head Office, NLNG Road, Eastern By-Pass, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
9. Toyin Falola Prize 2025
This Prize is created in honor of the Distinguished African scholar and foremost historian, Professor Toyin Falola. This year, it invites young African writers to craft narratives exploring the intricate intersections of Nature, Mother, Life, Earth, Technology, and Artificial Intelligence. Submissions should delve into the complexities, tensions, and points of unity within these relationships.
Deadline: 25th April 2025| Prize: $1,000
Things to note:
There is no limit to the number of words; however, submissions within the range of 1,500 – 4,500 words are preferred.
Writers are only allowed to submit one entry.
All entrants must be African.
All submissions must be the original work of the entrants, previously unpublished in any form, and not under consideration for publication or a prize somewhere else.
All submissions should be attached as a doc. file, named as the title of the submission (without the name of the entrant) and formatted in 1.5 line spacing, Book Antiqua font, size 12.
The body of the submission email should not contain the bio of the entrant, just the title of the submission, word count, genre, full name, and contact information. Bios of the entrants will be requested upon selection.
Submissions should be sent to prize@lunaris.com.ng with the subject “TOYIN FALOLA PRIZE SUBMISSION.”
No erotica.
Prose of the Week
The Endless Life of Onyeka Onwenu | Kechi Nne Nomu
The phenom of the Nigerian female pop icon is almost impossible to call up in the public imagination before Onyeka Onwenu. This is, of course, an illusion of history. The Lijadu Sisters exist. Alongside Onwenu, Christy Essien-Igbokwe, Evi Edna Ogholi, and Tyna Onwudiwe made music. And in their waka genre, Batile Alake first, then Salewa Abeni. But it was Onwenu’s embodiment of this idea of the pop icon, in its unwieldy mix, that set her apart. If there had been an existing archetype for what she came to represent, it does not quite prefigure Onwenu. She had a singular aura and way of moving between modes and genres—soul, folk or pop…
Poetry of the Week
For My Love, There Is a Poem I Know | Adut Loi Akok
My pride is poetry.
Nothing else I hold to myself proudly,
My love.
You asked me to take you back to South Sudan
and there is a poem I know.
I will tell you through a story
of an uncle in between terror and hope…
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Carraa gaarii! Milkaa'i! (May you find success—Oromo, Oromia, Ethopia)