We often tell our readers that any writer who wants to make headlines in the literary community must know how to beat deadlines. We made a list of writing contests for you to enter, we encourage you to do your best and work towards beating as many of the deadlines as possible.

African Writer Award

Deadline: August 15th

For 2020, we are pleased to announce a call for submission for the 2020 African Writers Awards under the theme ‘The African Identity’.

Additionally, we are pleased to announce a cash prize of $100 to each winner of the award. Please note that for 2020, we accept submissions to the following categories:

Poetry (Either Blank verse, Pantoum, Haiku or Senryu)

Creative Non-fiction – 1,500 words maximum

Drama – 6 Acts Maximum

Please note that you are allowed to submit to one category only and the author retains the copyright. Please send us entries that have not previously been published anywhere.

Submit here

Kalahari Short Story Competition

Deadline: August 20th

Entry into the competition is free of charge and open to all writers who have not published a full-length book. These include all nationalities, regardless of age and place of residence.

Each entrant shall submit an unpublished short story comprised between 2500 – 3500 words either in Swahili, English or French

Each short story must include the following excerpt from Elnathan JOHN’s novel, ”Born On A Tuesday” winner of Prix Les Afriques 2019: “I cannot eat or sleep or stop my hands from shaking. As soon as the sun rises, I will leave this place.”

Short stories shall be sent in Download a set of the contest rules here

Black Phoenix Ink Short Story Prize

Deadline: 11pm August, 25th

Eligibility: Authors must be Black or African.

Submission: All entries should be submitted through the online form only.

Deadline: All entries must be submitted before August 25th 2020, 11:00pm EST.

Length: All submissions should be no longer than 4000 words.

Language: All submissions should be written in English.

Target Audience: All entries must […continue reading]

Jack Grapes Poetry Prize

Deadline: August 31st

There’s no entry fee or fixed theme. You are allowed to submit UP to 2 poems per submission

3 WINNERS will receive $200 each, plus publication. 6 FINALISTS will receive $50 each, plus publication

You may submit up to 2, previously unpublished poems. If it has appeared in any book, magazine or edited website, including Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, then it is published.

NO SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS.

All submissions must be made through our submission portal. You may submit only once. Choose your best work!

You must follow the formatting rules. Submissions that do not follow these rules may not be considered.

Submissions must be […continue reading]

Submit here

 Pixley Seme Literary Award

Deadline: September 6th

In 2020, the African Dream Foundation, launched the Pixley Seme Literary Award. This award realizes and brings to life the rich storytelling capabilities of outstanding young African emerging writers, aged 30 years and under across the African continent. The award will promote the development of contemporary African stories, by revealing the histories, values, systems, cultural aesthetics, philosophies and way of life. People with a disability are strongly encouraged to apply

Read rules and enter here

12th Casa Africa Essay Prize

Deadline: September 17th

For the 12 consecutive year, Casa África is holding the Casa África Prizes for Essays on African Themes, with a view to recognizing, promoting and publicising original and unpublished essays that enhance the knowledge that people have of the African continent.

Theme: CLIMATE CHANGE IN ÁFRICA. Climate change is one of the great challenges of the 21st century. In fact, it could probably be the most urgent and multidimensional challenge the world faces actually. Extreme droughts cause desertification and environmental degradation, ruin the crops, facilitate the spread of fi res and kill livestock and people of thirst. Torrential rains and associated floods and adverse weather events of the same kind also have a dramatic impact on people’s lives. They wipe out crops and thus slow down the […continue reading]

Download and fill out the entry form here

Bath Flash Fiction Award

Deadline: October 11th

We host two international flash fiction writing competitions; the Bath Flash Fiction Award, and the Bath Novella-in-Flash Award. Entrants have the opportunity to appear in our print and digital books. We own a small press, Ad Hoc Fiction, which publishes quality books and also runs a weekly micro-fiction contest. In addition, we organise the UK’s annual Flash Fiction Festival.

Read the rules here

CỌ́N-SCÌÒ MAGAZINE ISSUE 1, VOL 1, OCT 2020

Deadline: September, 13

We invite all lovers of art and literature to submit their original art for the inaugural edition of Cọ́n-scìò, the Magazine of collective knowing, Issue 1/Volume 1, October 2020. The theme of this issue is ‘The Lockdown’.

We are looking for poetry, flash fiction, short non-fiction, art and photography that honestly capture aspects of our everyday lives during the coronavirus lockdown.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Submit a maximum of 2 entries per category (photo, poetry, art, prose)

Submit only original content authored by you

Add captions to art/photographs

Translate any entry not written in English

Include brief author biography and social media handle

Submit on the portal: here

If you need an editor before you turn in any of your works, we are here for you. Meanwhile, we wish you the best