Applications are open for the 2024 edition of the prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing!
Welcoming submissions from individuals who are nationals of an African country, born in Africa, or with African parentage. Stories submitted must have been published between April 1, 2019, and March 25, 2024, with word counts between 3,000 and 10,000 in order to be eligible for consideration in the 2024 competition.
Each tale may only be entered once, and submissions should be assisted by publishers representing print or digital literary venues. Entries must be submitted by the publisher or a third-party institution that is independent of the author. Unpublished or self-published works will not be accepted. Only fictional short stories are eligible for the Prize. Novels, children’s stories, and scholarly articles are not acceptable genres.
Works translated into English from other languages are eligible, provided they have been published in English translation. Should such a work win, the prize pot is split between the translator and the original language author along the following lines: 70% of the prize pot to the author, and 30% to the translator. Where the original work is by a non-living author the prize pot is split in equal halves between the translator and the author’s estate.
Publishers are encouraged to submit multiple short stories as long as they do not submit more than one story by the same author as the judges will only consider one work per writer in any given year. On occasions where separate publishers have submitted different stories by the same author, the Caine Prize will contact the writer with an opportunity to choose which story they wish to put forward to the judges. By entering the competition, the publisher and the author acknowledge that, should their tale be selected for further consideration, the Caine Prize anthologies will provide them perpetual, non-exclusive, non-commercial permission to reprint their work in digital, print, and audio versions.
Invitations to events in Africa, London, and possibly other places will be sent to the winner and writers on the shortlist, according to circumstances and available funds. Each of the nominated applicants will receive a trip reward in acknowledgment of their accomplishments, which will enhance the celebration of African literary talent and cross-cultural exchange.
Location:
OnlineBenefits
- The winning author will take home the Caine Prize and a cash reward of £10,000.
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The winner and shortlisted writers will be invited to participate in events in Africa, London and elsewhere should resources and circumstances permit. In these cases, there will be travel award granted to each of the shortlisted candidates.
Eligibilities
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The story must have been published in the five years preceding the submissions deadline. For 2024 eligibility, the judges will only consider work published between 1st April 2019 and 25th March 2024.
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Entries must be more than 3,000 words or less than 10,000 words.
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Entries must be submitted by a publisher. This includes publishers of physical and digital books, literary journals, magazines, and arts oriented websites.
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Writers must be over 18 years of age at the time of submission.
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Self-published and unpublished short stories are not eligible.
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Publishers are encouraged to submit multiple short stories as long as they do not submit more than one story by the same author.
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Stories may only be entered for consideration for The Caine Prize for African Writing once. Unfortunately, this means that you may not re-submit a story for consideration, even if it was not selected for the shortlist.
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Genres not eligible for entry include: novels, children’s stories, factual writing, academic essays, plays, poetry, autobiography/biography, and any work that does not constitute a fictional short story.
Application Process
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Each story must be submitted by the publisher via email [email protected] as a PDF attachment or via a link to the story (if it has been published online).
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Please ensure ‘The Caine Prize for African Writing Entry for 2024’ appears in the subject matter of your email.
Publishers are required to upload a ‘publisher’s letter’ with each submission. See below for more information:
- Submissions must specify which African country the author comes from and the short story word count.
What should the publisher’s letter include? Publishers are required to provide:
- Name of the writer(s).
- Title of the story or stories being submitted.
- Word count of each submitted story.
- The qualifying nationality of the writer(s).
- The date of publication of the story or stories.
- Confirmation of consent from the writer(s) whose stories are being submitted for the Prize.
Application Deadline: March 31, 2024
Application ClosedOfficial link
