Short Story Day Africa Prize for African Writers 2019

Call for submissions are open from African writers for this year’s Short Story Day Africa Prize. The theme of every submission should be on Hotel Africa.

Application Deadline: 31st October 2019.

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: African countries

To be taken at (country): Online

Offered Since: 2013

About the Award: The Short Story Day Africa Prize is an African writing prize open to African citizens, permanent residents of African countries, or second generation Africans living in the diaspora only. Unpublished works between 3000-5000 words in response to the theme are eligible for the prize.

Type: Essay writing contest

Eligibility: 

1. Any African citizen or African person living in the diaspora(Citizens of African countries or former citizens who have given up citizenship for whatever reason, and second generation Africans whose parents are/were African citizens), as well as persons residing permanently (granted permanent residence or similar) in any African country, may enter.
2. Writers may only submit one story for the competition. Repeat entries by the same writer will be disqualified.
3. Writers are welcome to submit stories in any fiction genre.
4. Stories must be between 3000 and 5000 words in length.
5. Stories must be submitted in English. While you are free to incorporate other languages into your story, the story must be able to be understood fully by its English content.
6. To facilitate easy reading and judging, please format your stories according to the format stipulated below. Stories not formatted in this way are at the risk of being disqualified.
7. Stories must not have been previously published in any form or any format.
8. Simultaneous submissions are not welcome. Any story entered or published elsewhere during the course of judging or publication will be disqualified.
9. You are welcome to enter under a pseudonym or nom de plume, as long as you also include your real name along with your entry.
10. All entries will be judged anonymously. Please DO NOT put your name or any other identifying details anywhere on your manuscript.
11. The judges’ decision is final.
12. By submitting a story the author attests that it is their own original work and grants exclusive global print and digital rights to Short Story Day Africa for one year, and thereafter agrees to seek permission to republish and when published elsewhere attributes first publication to Short Story Day Africa; non-exclusive digital rights to Worldreader to publish individual stories on Worldreader Mobile; and non-exclusive digital rights to BooksLive for publicity purposes.
13. By entering, the author agrees to allowing Short Short Story Day Africa to include their entry in an anthology should it be selected by the judges; and to working with editors to get their story publication ready.
14. We will not share your personal information with anyone. We will, however, add you to Short Story Day Africa mailing list for the sole purpose of informing you of next year’s even, or of other Short Story Day Africa events that may be of interest to you.

Submission Criteria: Candidates should:

• Type their document, using a single, clear font, 12-point size, double-spaced. The easiest font to use is Times New Roman, or a similar serif font.
• Put the title of their story halfway down the cover page. Please DO NOT title your story Migrations. Start your story immediately below the title.
• Put an accurate word count at the top right.
• Please number the pages.
• Left-justify their paragraphs.
• Ensure there is at least a 1 inch or 2 centimetre margin all the way around your text. This is to allow annotation to be written onto a printed copy.
• Indent each new paragraph by about 1/2 inch or 1 centimetre, except for the first line of the story or the first line of a new scene.
• Don’t insert extra lines between your paragraphs. A blank line indicates a new scene.
• Put the word “End” after the end of their text, centred, on its own line.

Number of Awardees: Three

Value of Award: 

• 1st prize  US$800
• 2nd prize US$200
• 3rd prize  US$100

In addition three emerging writers will receive a 20 week online creative writing course. These will be selected from the long list or slush pile.

How to Apply: Candidates should go here to apply

Visit Award Webpage for details

Award Provider: Short Story Day Africa

Important Notes: Due to a lack of funding submissions will incur a small fee which pays for the Submittalbe platform. The fee is in dollars HOWEVER you do not need a dollar account to pay. All currencies are accepted and your bank will convert the amount taken off your account into local currency. Thank you for your understanding.