5 Writing Opportunities for Africans | Recently Opened
The more we say, the more the world will listen.
This newsletter is published every Wednesday.
1. SpringNG’s Poetry Journal (March 2024 issue) is now accepting submissions.
Poetry Journal is accepting poetry and short story submissions for the 2024 edition. The winning piece is awarded N100,000. SprinNG is a society for the promotion, revitalization, and improvement of new Nigerian generations in writing and literature.
Deadline: 16 December 2023
Here are a few things to note:
There are no age restrictions
Writers submitting poems should send no more than six poems, while writers submitting short stories (2000-word limit) should send no more than three short stories (all in a word document).
While previously published works are welcomed, it is important to mention where and when they have been published while submitting.
Submission is done through the website ONLY.
2. Afritondo Prize 2024 is accepting short story submissions with the theme “Aliens”
This year, Afritondo wants writers “to respond to the theme of “aliens”: unfamiliar things, unfamiliar people, how they are received and lived with or rejected, how they change families, communities, societies.” Total prize is $1000.
Deadline: December 16, 2023.
Here are a few things to note:
1. You may only submit an entry if you are a citizen or national of an African country; one of your parents is a national of an African country; you identify as Black or African or belong to an African or Black minority population anywhere in the world.
2. Submissions must be in English. The submission, including the title, must be between 3000 and 5000 words.
3. Submissions must reflect the theme. Only one submission per writer is allowed.
4. Submission is accepted only via email. Entries should be sent to submissions@afritondo.com. The subject of the email should read: Submission for Afritondo Short Story Prize 2023. The filename of the entry (i.e., the attached document) must be the title of the short story. In the body of the email tell us, briefly, about yourself, including such information as your legal name, country of residence, age, and contact details.
For more information to guide your submission read these guidelines: https://www.afritondo.com/entry-guidelines-2023
3. Abebi Award in Afro Non-Fiction is accepting submissions from Nigerian Women
“The Abebi Award in Afro-Nonfiction exists to shine a much-needed light on nonfiction from Africa, in the form of personal narratives written by Nigerian women, in close proximity to the country and its myriads of joys and sorrows.”—Moyinfuola. O
Deadline: 14th November 2023. Total Prize: N250,000 and a residency.
Guidelines:
The award is open to Nigerian women, 18 and above who were born in, grew up in, or have significant lived experience within and proximity to the country. We encourage entries from queer women.
The award is open to writers who have not published a complete body of work, and will not have done so by December 2023.
All entries should be submitted to abebiaward@gmail.com, attached in doc. form. The attached entries should not bear any identifying information in the attached document as all submissions will be considered anonymously. The body of the email submission however should please include the writer’s full name, city of residence in Nigeria, and a brief bio.
All entries should be nonfiction: i.e. real life stories derived from true events from the writer’s life. 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.
All entries should be within the range of 1,500–3,000 words in length
Submissions will open from the 1st of October 2023 and close on the 14th of November 2023 at 6pm WAT.
A winner will be announced on the 1st of December, along with a runner up and three notable entries.
The winner will be awarded N150,000 and the first runner up will be awarded N100,000.
The winner, runner up and three notable entries will be invited to a two-day writer’s residency in Lagos, in December followed by a reading event to celebrate the first year of the award. Further details will be released closer to the aforementioned time. Source: Moyinfuola. O
4. IBUA Manuscript Project 2024 is accepting submissions from East African Writers
“Ibua Journal is a quarterly online magazine offering literary and social commentary on African lives. Ibua is committed to the East African novel and its place in documenting our heritage and experience of life in East Africa.”- Kuhelika Ghosh
Deadline: 24 January 2024 | Prize: Best 3 manuscripts will be published.
Submission Guidelines:
Writers must be residents of East Africa and must be a citizen of an East African Community member (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo).
Writers can only submit adult fiction in English, unpublished, and original work. (And if formerly published, it shouldn’t have sold more than 500 copies).
Writers must submit a PDF of part or whole of their manuscript, which should not exceed 300 pages (50,000 words).
Manuscripts should be formatted in Times New Roman, size 12, with 1.5 line spacing.
A synopsis of the manuscript, not exceeding 500 words, along with a short bio and current contact details (name, email, phone number, and place of residence) should be included.
A timeline you are working with for completion of the full manuscript should be included.
The subject line of the submission email should be “Ibua Manuscript Project 2024”.
To submit, send an email with the required information to ibuapublishing@gmail.com. Source: Brittle Paper
5. Transition Magazine (Harvard) calls for submissions on theme ‘Species’
“Transition is looking for any imaginative work that shifts the human perspective (or opens it into) a planetary one--one that comprises all of life, including that of plants. Because we are magazine of the Black diaspora, we are especially interested in art and writing at the intersection of black and animal and plant studies.”
Deadline: Unstated. Prize: One print copy + international exposure.
Submission Guidelines:
All submissions should include a brief cover letter that includes a short author bio.
For all submissions, please include the following information in your cover letter and in the top left corner of the first page of all documents:
Name
Email address
Title of the work
Word count (or page count, for poetry)
Pages should be numbered and include the author’s name on every page.
All text submissions must be in .doc, .docx, or .pdf file format. Images may be submitted in .jpg, .tiff, .gif, or .png.
Use 12pt. Times New Roman font unless there is a stylistic reason to do otherwise.
Source: Hutchins Center, Harvard University
Prose Highlight
There’s No Home the Dead Do Not Paint Grey
Ekpenyong Kosisochukwu Collins
Dear Grief,
My father’s death did not destroy me. The world moved its flower beds to another compound the day he died. People wined and dined their sadness. Birds cawed above us. Dogs shat in front of our veranda, while some of us got better at writing poetry.
Grief, I remember the day you visited, that early Harmattan morning when you’d knocked, and my mother screamed. My father’s body was stiff and unmoving in his bedroom. You clung to the people around me…
Poetry Highlight
SUNSET IS YOU by Sofiat Ramon Omowumi
the sun dozes off behind white clouds,
its rays create translucent cones like
reflection of heavenly singing voices…
Thank you for reading this newsletter. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletters to receive curated collection of writing competitions, publishing opportunities, grants, fellowships, and written pieces tailored specifically for African writers’ growth.
Ka chi gi kwe! (may luck shine on you—Igbo, Eastern Nigeria)