Opportunities for writers, poets, and publishers for February 2022.

In our continuing series, we share opportunities for those who wish to submit work be it poetry, prose, or other related arts in February 2022. These callouts are divided into prizes, journals, and education (MFAs, Fellowships, residencies).

Education (MFAs, Fellowships, residencies)

The Rock Retreat, Gibraltar

The Rock Retreat Residency is for aspiring writers and artists who want to focus on creating work for children and young adults. Five days of masterclasses, led by experts from the world of children’s publishing. A practical skill sharing programme of professionally led workshops and cultural exchanges. The facilitators will provide close guidance with continuous feedback to help you identify your unique voice.

If you are interested in poetry, graphic novels, animation, picture books, fiction, historical narratives, science fiction, humour, social issues, illustration or indeed anything else we are looking forward to hearing from you and ensuring that a week spent with us in Gibraltar will give you the time and opportunity to explore your ideas and develop your skills.

We want to encourage artists and writers from all backgrounds regardless of experience or training to apply.  We are looking for people with ideas and with an interest in creating stories for young readers who want to explore their interests in a supportive community of people. 

The facilitators will be Ken Wilson-Max, Liz Hyder, Chris Priestley, Sarah Odedina, and Eleanor Taylor.

Deadline: February 28
Details: Click here

University of East Anglia Writer Master Class (English and Kiswahili)

Are you in East Africa with a short story idea or an unpublished short story which could use some panel-beating from more experienced hands in the trade and possibly make it into an anthology? The University of East Anglia’s International Chair of Creative Writing Programme, led by Tsitsi Dangarembga invites you to submit your 2,000-3,000 word short story in English or Kiswahili to stand a chance to take part in a week’s residential Masterclass  4-9 July 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya to [email protected] from now until Midnight on 9 May, 2022.

Story submissions in either of the two languages from writers based in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda will go through a first draft edit via email before final selection of participants who are expected to be in Nairobi during the week of the Masterclass at their own cost (we will make suggestions for low-cost accommodation). Participants in the Masterclass stand a chance of being published in two anthologies with Kiswahili stories translated into English and English stories translated in Kiswahili. The Masterclass that will be facilitated by Elias Mutani (Kiswahili) and Zukiswa Wanner (English) along with guest visits/readings from Tsitsi Dangarembga and the University of East Anglia’s director of Creative Writing and the International Chair programme Jean McNeil.

Deadline: May 9
Details: Click here.

Prizes

Quramo Writers Prize

Created in 2017 as an avenue for fresh writers to showcase their manuscripts to the global literary community, and contribute their works to the canonisation of Africa literature, the Quramo Writers’ Prize celebrates unpublished writers who are working every day to hone their craft and record our continent’s original stories. The prize aims to encourage and stimulate a new community of talented writers, providing an opportunity for otherwise unexposed talent to achieve publishing recognition and encouragement.

For Quramo Writers’ Prize 2022, we are inviting unpublished African writers to submit an original manuscript in fiction prose, with a minimum word count of 30,000. An ‘African’ writer is taken to mean someone who is a citizen of an African country, or who has a parent who is African by birth or nationality, living anywhere in the world. The Prize is awarded to an original fiction prose manuscript by an unpublished African writer. ‘Unpublished is taken to mean the writer has never traditionally, digitally or self-published his writing in book format before. Each entry must be an original, unpublished work of fiction.

Details: Click here.
Deadline: April 30, 2021

NBO Film Festival Writer’s Prize

The NBO Writer’s Prize awards one first-time feature filmmaker and two second-time feature filmmakers with an award of USD 1500.00 to support the completion of their scripts.

Deadline: February 18
Details: Click here

Toyin Falola Prize 2022

Now in its third year, the theme for this year’s edition of the Toyin Falola Prize is Freedom. However, freedom is conceived very broadly, for it means several things and can be several things too. It could be a physical condition, psychological, geopolitical, or even spiritual. Still, at the heart of the lexical item’s several interpretations is a roaming spirit, since to be free is to defy bounds: i.e., to have the capacity to not be pinned down. To what extent is this true or false? We want your story to answer this.

Deadline: May 15
Details: Click here

BBC Short Story and Young Writers’ Awards 2022

The 2022 BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University (YWA) is now open for entries. Now in its eighth year, the BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University invites all young people in the UK aged between 14-18 years to submit stories of up to 1,000 words.

Deadline: March 28
Details: Click here

Diverse Book Awards (UK)

Open to any children’s, YA, or adult book published in 2021 by a UK author. Publishers can submit up to 5 books and self-published authors can submit up to 2 books.

Deadline: May 31
Details: Click here

Hugo Awards 2022

The Hugo Award is the leading award for excellence in the field of science fiction and fantasy. The Hugos were first presented in 1953 and have been awarded every year since 1955 by the members of the World Science Fiction Society (Worldcon members) at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon).

Nominations for the 2022 Hugo Awards, Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and Astounding Award for Best New Writer are now open.

Deadline: March 15, 2022.
Details: Click here.

International Publishers Association Prix Voltaire 2022

The Geneva-based International Publishers Association (IPA) has made a call for nominations for the 2022 IPA Prix Voltaire for exemplary courage in upholding the Freedom to Publish and enabling others to exercise their freedom of expression.

Deadline: March 27
Details: Click here.

Nebula Awards 2022

The Nebula Awards are voted on and presented by full, senior, and associate members of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. Founded as the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1965 by Damon Knight, the organization began with a charter membership of 78 writers; it now has over 2,000 members, among them many of the leading writers of science fiction and fantasy.

Deadline: February 28
Details: Click here.

Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2022

Calling all indie book authors and publishers – including small presses, mid-size independent publishers, university presses, e-book publishers, and self-published authors who have a book written in English released in 2020, 2021 or 2022 or with a 2020, 2021 or 2022 copyright date to enter the most rewarding book awards program.

Deadline: February 11
Details: Click here

Sharjah Children’s Book Award 2022

The Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF), organised by Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), has announced the opening of registrations for the Sharjah Children’s Book Award and SCRF Visually Impaired Book Award. The awards aim to encourage authors to produce high-quality works in the field of children’s literature and help develop children’s literary and cultural abilities, improve their literary awareness, and enrich libraries with children’s books.

Deadline: March 13
Details: Click here.

The Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize

Exceptionally international in scope, the prize supports writers who have not yet published a book-length work, with no limits on age, gender, nationality, or background. The winners of each category will receive a £1,000 cash prize and publication, and will be published in Wasafiri’s print magazine. Shortlisted writers will have their work published on Wasafiri’s website. All fifteen shortlistees and winners will also be offered the Chapter and Verse or Free Reads mentoring scheme in partnership with The Literary Consultancy (dependent on eligibility), and a conversation with Nikesh Shukla of The Good Literary Agency to discuss their career progression.

Deadline: June 30
Details: Click here.

Randall Kenan Prize for Black LGBTQ Fiction

The Randall Kenan Prize for Black LGBTQ Fiction, in memory of the celebrated author Randall Kenan, honors Black LGBTQ writers of fiction. The award will go to a Black LGBTQ writer whose fiction explores themes of Black LGBTQ life, culture, and/or history. To be eligible, the winner of the prize must have published at least one book and show promise in continuing to produce groundbreaking work. The award includes a cash prize of $3,000.

Deadline: February 15
Details: Click here.

The James Currey Prize for African Literature

The James Currey Prize for African Literature is an annual award for the best unpublished work of fiction written in English by any writer, set in Africa or on Africans in Africa or in Diaspora. It was established in 2020 by Nigerian writer, filmmaker and publisher of Hattus Books, Onyeka Nwelue, in honour of James Currey, the leading publisher of academic books on Africa – dedicated to distributing books about Africa in Africa.

Deadline: April 1, 2022
Details: Click here.

Literary magazines/journals

Agbowó

Agbowó, a collector of New African Art, is currently looking for several highly motivated African readers to join our fiction, poetry, and non-fiction team. Agbowó is an ambitious journal of African art; hence, we are looking to expand our editorial team. Although these are unpaid volunteer positions, these roles represent a chance to join one of the leading literary paying markets in Africa, read and select the chosen fiction, poetry, and nonfiction pieces, and build confidence and editorial skill. You will also get to work alongside a community of dedicated writers and activists with the mission to emphasize marginalized identities. The time commitment will be around 10-15 hours per quarter.

Deadline: February 25
Details: Click here.

Pepper Coast Lit

We are a magazine from the coast of Liberia. Pepper Coast Lit is a literary magazine that seeks to give attention to brave voices. We are in the hunt for poetry from around the world, cutting across any/and every theme and/or style. We are currently accepting submissions to be reviewed for possible publication.

we are happy to announce that we will be receiving submissions from the 20th of February to the 20th of March 2022 for our very first issue.  

Deadline: March 20
Details: Click here.

Lolwe

Lolwe is accepting submissions for Issue 5 throughout the month of February (1-28 February 2022). The issue will be guest-edited by Mali Kambandu, Willie Lee Kinard III and Yovanka Paquete Perdigão.

We are looking for work that is bold, different, and blurs or pushes boundaries: play with form and language, ignore genre classifications, send in your fears and joys, your doubts and faiths, your curiosities and silences.

Deadline: February 28
Details: Click here

Shiwaki

Shiwaki is short for Shirika La Waandishi Wa Lugha Ya Kiswahili which in English is the federation of writers in Kiswahili. If you wish to submit your writing in Kiswahili, here is your chance.

Deadline: Not indicated
Details: Click here

Doek

Namibian poets—wherever you are—we are open for your poetry submissions. Send us your work for consideration for our 8th issue.  

Deadline: March 14
Details: Click here.

Afreada

From the sandy shores of Senegal, to the backstreets of Mozambique, if you write short fiction, we want to hear from you. What exactly are we looking for?

Deadline: March 31
Details: Click here.

African Global Networks Poetry Platform

Call for poetry from emerging writers in Africa: Each month African Global Networks (AGN) features a poem from an emerging writer in Africa.  AGN pays £20.00 for each poem it publishes. The initiative has been ongoing since August 2019 and there is no end date.

Deadline: Not indicated
Details: Click here.

Decolonial Passage

Decolonial Passage presents each distinct piece of writing as a passage worthy of readers’ attention in which writers create texts to articulate a variety of themata affecting the human condition including, but not limited to authenticity, liberty, alienation, dignity, community, and boundless love. Decolonial Passage publishes writing from emerging and established writers who use language and form in innovative ways.

Deadline: Not indicated
Information: Click here.

Eclectica Magazine

We pride ourselves on giving everyone (high schoolers, convicts, movie executives, etc.) an equal shot at publication, based solely on the quality of their work. Because we like eclecticism, we tend to favor the varied perspectives that often characterize the work of international authors, people of color, women, alternative lifestylists, and straight white men—but others who don’t fit into these categories sometimes do surprise us.

Deadline: March 1
Details: Click here

Alium

Allium, A Journal of Poetry & Prose publishes three issues each year: two online issues (September and May of each year) and one print issue (February of each year). Allium accepts simultaneous submissions, requests a maximum page length of five pages for poetry, fifteen pages for craft essays, fiction, hybrid, and nonfiction, and does not seek previously published work.  Our submission period begins October 15 and ends April 1.  Submissions are read February through May.  We use Submittable to manage our submissions.

Deadline: April 1
Details: Click here

Isele Magazine

Isele Magazine is seeking submissions of essays, fiction, poetry, interviews, and book reviews. We do not accept multiple submissions, but we do consider simultaneous submissions. Please let us know when your work has been accepted for publication elsewhere. Please do not submit previously published works (by this, we mean any piece that has appeared on the web or in print, including your personal blog). However, we will consider a translated version of the work if the original language wasn’t in English.

Deadline: Not indicated
Details: Click here.

Olúmọ Review

Olúmọ Review seeks amazing poetry – poetry that is bold, poetry that would collide with rocks and grind them to powder, that sparks curiosity, that intrigues the intellect, that kicks in the teeth, that guts the heart, that says something genuine about the world as well as the individual.  We celebrate diversity and are open to diverse styles, forms, and kinds of poetry, about any and all subjects.

Deadline: March 31
Details: Click here

Publishers

Farafina

Farafina is one of the leading publishers based in Nigeria. They have made their annual call for submissions.

Deadline: March 31
Details: Click here.

Ouida Books

Ouida Books calls on all writers of unpublished fiction and nonfiction to send us their works. We look forward to receiving your manuscripts.

Deadline: Not indicated
Details: Click here.

Other

Poets on the move as Hear My Voice announces Mobility Fund

Following the success of the previous Mobility Fund, which was initially introduced in 2020 to encourage the export of South African poets to the world, the Hear My Voice team has re-launched their Mobility Fund. This time the fund does not only enable and incentivise international travel, but poets and poetry platforms can also apply to get support for interprovincial travel. The fund will contribute towards poets mobility costs to the maximum of R10 000. In the instance of digital mobility, the fund will either match or contribute towards the poets performance fee.

Deadline: March 31
Details: Click here.