Posts in category: News Updates

The African Indie Writers Review (AFIRE) ejournal is happy to announce The 2019 Linda Ikeji Prize for Literature.

This is going to be an annual event.

The Prize: N1,000,000.00 (One Million Naira)

The Need:

African Indie-Writers Review (AFIRE) is an e-journal strategically positioned to hold out a hand to new, contemporary and audacious African writers most interested in taking their work to a wider world. We now live in a global village of both happy and sad magic, where technology levels the opportunity gap between those who have been seen and those who have much to show but have not been heard from. There is one thing we all must agree on: Africa never stopped talking, from every nook and corner. Sometimes we are forced to talk, as the late Christopher Okigbo puts it, ‘without voice or audience’. But Africa keeps talking. Today we must find both our voice and our audience inside our own communal cry. Silence should never be an option. We must keep our fires burning.

Call for submission:

We are now receiving submissions for the 2019 Linda Ikeji Prize for Literature. All entries should be forwarded to: afire18@gmail.com

DEADLINE for submission: June 30 2019.

No material submitted after 11:59pm on June 30 2019 will be considered.

CATEGORIES

There are six categories for material to be submitted to AFIRE:

Fiction, Prose – full length novels: published, self-published or unpublished
Fiction, Prose – short stories: published, self-published or unpublished
Non Fiction – published, self-published or unpublished
Poetry – collections: published, self-published or unpublished
Drama – published, self-published or unpublished
Social media essays – collections: published, self-published or unpublished

Requirements

All materials should be submitted in Microsoft Word file format. Pdf files are allowed for only poetry submissions where original format is considered a critical part of the aesthetic presentation. Fonts should be size 12 in all submitted materials.

Materials could be of any topic and theme, as long as it demonstrates a clear and undisputable motion for growth and development, enlightenment and humanity on the continent. New African writers in diaspora holding valid passports of any African country are eligible to participate.

The decisions of the judging panel are final.

Source:

Linda Ikeji blog

The June 2019 edition of “Writing Life Essentials,” a monthly hand-curated list of contests, grants, scholarships, submissions calls, and awards, with a focus on opportunities that are at least one of the following: local, free to apply, and/or committed to celebrating and supporting writers from historically marginalized communities. We do the research, so you have more time for what matters: the writing. Or, the summer solstice festivities. That matters too.

Contests & Awards

Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award
Fee: $0; Award: $2,000; Deadline: June 9th Sisters in Crime presents: The Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award is an annual grant for an emerging writer of color. The award is intended to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities. An unpublished writer is preferred, however publication of several pieces of short fiction and/or up to two self-published or traditionally published books will not disqualify an applicant.

2020 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Literature

Fee: $0; Award: $50,000; Deadline: June 10th, 5pm EDT The Vilcek Foundation is seeking immigrant applicants for the 2020 Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Literature. Foreign-born literary artists working across a variety of genres are invited to apply, including fiction (novels, novellas, short stories, and graphic novels); nonfiction (memoir, creative nonfiction, general nonfiction, book-length journalism, and graphic nonfiction); and poetry. Applicants should have published at least one full-length book (not self-published), been born outside of the United States, and be 38 years of age or younger.

Fee: $0; Award: $50,000; Deadline: June 10th, 5pm EDT

Louise Meriwether First Book Prize

Fee: $0; Award: $5,000 & Publication by the Feminist Press; Deadline: June 28thThe Louise Meriwether First Book Prize is open to fiction and narrative nonfiction by women of color and nonbinary writers of color. Poetry, plays, or academic texts are not accepted. One winner will be awarded a $5,000 advance (half at the time of the initial award and half upon publication) and a contract to publish their book with the Feminist Press in print and digital editions in spring 2021.

Key West Literary Seminar’s Emerging Writer Awards

Fee:$12; Award: Full Tuition for January Seminar and Writers’ Workshop Program, Round-trip Airfare, Lodging, A $500 honorarium; Deadline: June 28th

The Marianne Russo Award, Scotti Merrill Award, and Cecelia Joyce Johnson Award recognize and support writers who possess exceptional talent and demonstrate potential for lasting literary careers. The Merrill Award recognizes a poet, while fiction writers may apply for either the Johnson Award (for a short story) or the Russo Award (for a novel-in-progress). Writers of any age who live in the United States and have not yet published a book with a major publisher are eligible to apply.

Drue Heinz Literature Prize

Fee: $0; Award: $15,000; Deadline: June 30th The award is open to authors who have published a book-length collection of fiction or at least three short stories or novellas in commercial magazines or literary journals. Winners will receive a cash prize of $15,000, publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press, and support in the nation-wide promotion of their book.

28th Annual Hard Times Essay Contest

Fee: $25, Award: Varied for 1st -3rd Place; Deadline: June 30th

In 5,000 words or less, write about a difficult time in your life, how you got through it, and how it changed you. Winning stories will be chosen for originality and creative writing style.

Nowhere’s Spring 2019 Travel Writing Contest

Fee: $20, Award: $1,000, with publication in Nowhere granted under FNASR; Deadline: July 1st Send Nowhere your stories that possess a powerful sense of place. They can be fiction, nonfiction, poetry or essay, but do specify which genre upon submission. Entries should be between 800-5000 words (poetry may be any length) and must not have been previously chosen as a winner in another contest.

Fellowships, Conferences & Residencies

Apply for a Vermont Studio Center Fellowship
Fee: $25; Deadline: June 15th25 VSC fellowships are open to all artists and writers living and working anywhere in the world. These awards are for residencies scheduled between September 2019 and May 2020. Every VSC residency opportunity includes: private room, private studio space, all meals, and full access to evening programs and events.

Apply for a Maine Artist Fellowship

Fee: $0; Award: $5,000; Deadline: June 20th A fellowship is given annually to a poet, fiction writer, or creative nonfiction writer who has lived in the state of Maine for at least one year. The fellow is expected to reside in the state for the year of the fellowship. Writers enrolled in a degree-granting program are ineligible. Using the online submission system, submit up to five poems of any length or up to 20 pages of prose and a resume by June 20th.

Apply for the Fall 2019 Open City Muslim Communities Fellowship
Fee: $0; Deadline: June 28th, 11:59pm EST; NYC-based The Open City Muslim Communities Fellowship is a unique six-month opportunity for emerging writers of color from communities under attack from Islamophobia to publish narrative nonfiction about Muslim communities in New York City. Writers of color based in NYC from Muslim and Arab, South Asian, and North and East African communities are encouraged to apply.

Apply for the Fall 2019 Open City Neighborhoods Fellowship
Fee: $0; Deadline: June 28th, 11:59pm EST; NYC-based
The Neighborhoods Fellowship is a unique opportunity for emerging Asian American writers to publish narrative nonfiction over the span of six months on the vibrant Asian American communities of New York City. The Fellowship offers a $2,500 grant, skill-building workshops, and publishing opportunities.

Fear No Lit’s Submerging Writer FellowshipFee: $0; Award: Publication, Honorarium, Conference Registration, Book Planning; Deadline: July 31st The Submerging Writer Fellowship (SWF) from Fear No Lit will offer one writer chapbook publication, prize money, and more. Dedicated to the writers who feel left behind, down on their luck, and far from emerging, the SWF is here to pull one submerging writer out of the water. You’re eligible to apply if you have not yet had a book published, won no major awards/prizes, and currently not in an MFA/PhD program.

Jobs & Work Experience

Staff Writer Position at Boston College Magazine
Deadline: N/A
Under the direction of the editor, the staff writer will develop, research, and write news and feature-length articles for Boston College Magazine. In addition, the staff writer will help with editing and fact-checking, and develop value-added content for the magazine’s online edition. The qualified candidate should have a bachelor’s degree and at least one year of magazine writing and editing experience.

Beacon Press Internships for People of Color
Deadline: July 31st The Beacon Press Internships for People of Color program seeks to increase diversity and inclusiveness in the book publishing industry. Beacon Press offers internships in the Marketing, Publicity, Digital and Social Media, Production, and Editorial departments.

Education Director Position at MassPoetry
Deadline: July 31st
MassPoetry is seeking to hire an expert manager and experienced educator with a passion for poetry to serve as the full-time Education Director. They will manage MassPoetry’s unique suite of poetry programs, build robust partnerships with middle and high schools across the state, and oversee the expansion of our Poet-in-Residence program, among other responsibilities.

General Submissions

Free Submissions to The Bare Life ReviewFee: $0; Award: $750 for accepted full-length prose pieces and $300 for accepted poems or shorter prose; Deadline: July 31stThe Bare Life Review is accepting unsolicited manuscripts in fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Submissions will be judged solely on artistic grounds. Your work may, but need not, deal explicitly with issues of immigration, exile, or refuge.

Free Submissions to Chicken Soup for the Soul

Fee: $0; Deadline: RollingChicken Soup for the Soul seeks submissions for their upcoming topics. Submit an inspirational, true story in the first-person and in 1200 words or less. Please see the story guidelines for more information.

Open Submissions to Kindred BooksFee: $0; Deadline: Rolling Kindred Books aims to put marginalized voices first. Fiction Editor Vanessa Willoughby is actively seeking narratives that make readers reflect and question the world around them. Your electronic submission of a manuscript pitch and 1-2 sample chapters will be accepted at brainmillpress.submittable.com. Up to two manuscripts may be submitted per person.
Call for Pitches: Essays for BMP Voices Column “Makers on Making”Fee: $0; Deadline: Ongoing Brain Mill Press is seeking emotional, radically authentic essays of 750-1,500 words to appear on its online content platform Voices, in the “Makers on Making” column. Brain Mill Press exclusively invites submissions from people of color, women, and LGBTQIA+ writers.

Article first appeared on
https://grubstreet.org

COAL’s Founder Patience Andrew will be joining over 150 emerging leaders from 51 countries to shape the future of civic leadership at the Global Pathfinder Summit in Virginia USA from the 20th to 24th May 2019.

She will be sharing some thoughts on the need for strong and people-powered democracy for policy development in Education, reduction in mortality rate and youth leadership in Africa. She will also grace the summit with a poetry performance centering on themes of, race, insurgency, corruption, politics, democracy, economics and Africa’s continuous underdevelopment.

For more information about the Global Pathfinder Summit – http://globalpathfindersummit.org/

COALNG is teaming up with ‘Justcreate’ http://juscr8.com.ng/ and TalesAfrik
talesafrik.wordpress.com to organize a writing workshop ‘Art of Short Story.’ This combined effort is timely to the need for growth within the literary space in Nigeria.

The first edition will be launched on the 18th of May, 2019 at 10am to 4pm at nHub which is also a partnering organization of COALNG.

The facilitator of the workshop is TJ benson.

About TJ Benson

TJ Benson is a Nigerian writer and creative photographer whose work has appeared in several online journals like Jalada Africa, Expound and Bakwa magazine; in print magazines like transition magazine and more recently Saraba’s ‘transitions’ issue.

He is the author of “We Won’t Fade Into Darkness’ a collection of speculative short stories published by Parresia Publishers.

His chapbook of photography ‘rituals’ was published in downloadable pdf on sankofa magazine in 2015. His short story ‘an abundance of yellow paper’ was the joint winner of the amb-hbf contest in 2016 and this collection was shortlisted for the Saraba manuscript prize, he was the first runner-up for the 2016 short story day Africa prize themes ‘migration’ and he is a two time writer-in-residence at the Edebi writers residency Nigeria.

He currently resides in Abuja where he makes images when he is not writing and cooks to calm his nerves from time to time.

IT IS OPEN MIC GUYS

Are you a Poet, storyteller, artist or musician looking for an audience to listen and enjoy your original piece?

Custodians of African Literature COAL is creating an expressive and safe space for others to enjoy and critique your work.

Come early, register to perform and wait for your turn.

Date: 31st March, 2019
Time: 3pm, registration starts at 2:30pm.
Venue: 3rd Floor Nhub, Bluewhale building, opposite NITEL office, before old airport junction.

Come, be heard and perfect your skills.

For further info email info@coalng.org or call 0906 572 3243

The quest for gender parity all over the world is beyond just a campaign, it is a reflection of the inner yearning for societal balance driven by social justice for all. The 2019 International Women’s Day is another time to reflect on what gender equality is or should be, and why it is needed for sustainable growth in nations. As the old aphorism goes ‘where the value of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable,’ this has been the case for most women all over the world. A reason for the abuse of women is tied to the underdevelopment of the collective consciousness of humans in what is right and beneficial to the overall existence of all.

As great as the Sustainable Development Goals are towards achieving gender parity, if people do not know why they should respect and take these goals seriously then it is of no use hammering on them. And rather than becoming reactionary to societal problems, we should first seek to know and understand the root causes of these problems to be able to provide any sustainable solutions to them.

Gender balance is a given in nature; animals, plants, the human physiology are palpable proofs of how all things work effectively when in a state of balance. Therefore, the campaign for gender parity should not be competitive in its approach, rather, it should be complementary to the value of balance and necessity for mutual growth and benefit to both genders in all aspects of life. There is no need to persuade people to respect what is naturally of value to them and every human being needs to be given equal respect and value irrespective of what gender they are.

Women and girls represent half of the world’s population, thereby revealing the enormous importance for their development and contributions to the overall development of the world, it will be foolish to discard the smallest fraction of this huge population. However, over the years, the female gender hasn’t been given equal value and respect in the world, this also is evident in some disturbing statistics.  In 2015 there were only 21 female Heads of State, over 150 countries have at least one actively sexist law and each minute 28 girls are married before they are ready. 1 in 3 women have experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lifetime, and there are approximately 781 million illiterate adults worldwide- two-thirds are women and about 63 million girls still need to go to school. The staggering statistics is a wake-up call on all humans to embrace their shared humanity in upholding the dignity of life and respect for all people.

‘‘The 2019 International Women’s Day theme Think equal, build smart, innovate for change focuses on innovative ways in which gender equality and the empowerment of women can be advanced, particularly in the areas of social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure.’’ Real innovation stems from the love which seeks the good of all. Gender parity shouldn’t be a one-sided struggle of two opposing standards, rather, it should be a complementary struggle upholding the equal importance of both genders in appreciation to their peculiarities, intelligence, and contributions to the development of the world.

As we celebrate women today, I call on everyone to advocate for value-based equality and not competitive equality, in doing so, we hold each other accountable for the enhancement of our collective consciousness in what is right, in what is of value and of overall benefit to all. A woman shouldn’t beg to be respected and treated fairly, she should simply be accorded respect because she is human, and should be treated equitably just like anyone else.

To celebrate 2019 International Women’s Day, we are delighted to team up with Caprecon Foundation for a mini saga writing contest on the theme ”Balance for Better”⠀

How to Participate:

1. like @coalng and @caprecondevelopmentfoundation pages on facebook 
2. Mail your fifty word story to custodiansofafricanliterature@gmail.com
3. Top five stories selected by our judges would be reposted on our Facebook page where the public would vote for the winning story.

Price:
• 10,000 naira cash.

Competition is open from 27th February to March 6th 2019. Winner would be announced on the 8th of March 2019.

Good luck writers and tag a friend !

Literature has been imperative in society as an active tool of advocacy for civil melioration. Once again, it proves true as COAL founder enlists with the Atlas Corps fellowship program. The social activist, poet, on-air-personality, has shown commitment in using and providing the platform for literary expression towards development and innovation. The very plinth COAL rests on.

Patience Andrew has a deep-seated desire to use her skill for societal development as seen in her enrollment of the Atlas Corp fellowship – an international organization established for more than a decade of promoting innovation and cooperation among leaders while providing solutions to address current world challenges.

The COAL founder will serve as Boston Program Coordinator Fellow and will primarily focus on direct youth work including daily intensive group facilitation with teens. She will work as part of TE (Teen Empowerment ) Organizers responsible for the day-to-day operations of a TE operations site. the 12-18 month long program will see her associate with skilled professionals of like minds from across the world and from different sectors of leadership, a step further in making literary consciousness and participation a vanguard in the campaign for societal development.

We at COAL are proud of her and we will continue to push for social transformation using the art.

‘‘Writers are shapers of life; they are the wheels controlling what direction our minds travel to and how far the journey goes. They are the gods that determine what creed or rituals befitting for shaping the extent of our realization of truth.’’

History serves as a palpable proof of man’s insatiable desire for wrong doings, this was revealed in wars and the ubiquitous pride of individuals and nations who boasted of the knowledge and weaponry they had amassed to destroy other races, people and nations they considered as threats to their economy, ideologies or conceived power. This is not just historical but equally present in the world right now. This thirst for malevolence is not and should not be conceived only in the tussle between world powers, it is very much present in our individual lives and interactions with one another on a daily basis.

In a world where so much is preached about love and the need for unity, it is also a world plagued with so much hate, separation, poverty, corruption, diseases and death. We’ve become reactionary to these problems and fail to understand why they happen, or our contributions to these ills and why the drive for lasting peace or love is delusive by the day. It is because man (generically) does not know who he really is and how he is to behave; it is because man understands himself only based on what he sees. It is because man is not awakened to realize his real self beyond his ties to the material; it is because man can never be good outside the spirit.

It is however clear that there is something invincible binding the entire human race, whether it is believed as true or not. There is an invincible tie binding us all to a collective experience of all the happenings in the world, and this connectedness affects our relationship with one another and all life forms present in the universe. Man is affected by his environment as much as environment is shaped by man’s actions and inactions. If there is a clear basis for such understanding, it is therefore necessary to strive in knowing how to bring about balance and lasting peace in the world.

But pathetically, a spiritually unconscious man is trying so hard to bring peace to a spiritually unconscious world.  The world’s drive in bringing about harmony has been somewhat disruptive in its approach to solving one problem to the other. This will equally create other problems that will need other disruptive ideas to solve it, and on and on it goes. This will never bring about any sustainable solution to the dissonance we experience today. To soundly understand who we are, we must first understand the primal nature of ourselves. Are we just what we see or is there something more to us? How do we build a collective consciousness in love that seeks the good of all? It doesn’t happen by just preaching about love or by trying to be good, it happens only when there is an awakening in our consciousness and in the realization of the essence of our beings. We have come to accept that love is the most powerful force in the universe, yet fail to give or experience this love in all situations in our interactions with people. We choose those we love and those we don’t and further create separation amongst each other, whereas this love force we all experience should have been an indicator to our desire for what is good and how much we all long for a touch of love and kindness.

As a literary artist, I have experienced the power of literature and the decisive role it plays in building sound knowledge of diverse human experiences. Literatures have been very compelling and powerful means in shaping how people think, and literatures are written by men and women awakened at different levels of self realization either in good or bad; and these literatures have been resources for human knowledge and reasoning. With such level of influence, it isn’t surprising therefore of how ideologies have shaped people, nations and how the world is structured today. This reveals the enormous power man has in contributing to every activity in the world. Every idea, belief, systems is always shaped by a person whether it is written or unwritten.

The world’s quest for knowledge has become increasingly voracious and the availability of myriad information in different fields of study has rather left many more confused than enlightened. Imagine if we had a world of spiritually awakened minds who shape thoughts, experiences and knowledge based on truth, imagine the beauty of diversity which invariable brings us all to one truth we know as love. This will further drive and deepen our consciousness in what is true, in what is of value and of utmost benefit to all.

So, for us to have conscious literatures, we must first have conscious people who will in turn write conscious literatures. And to be spiritually conscious takes a grave and honest seeking of truth, the source energy of the universe or God. Nobody truly becomes awakened without earnestly seeking. Whatever form of literature, be it prose, poetry or drama, fiction or nonfiction, it must always seek to express the universality of truth hidden in love and oneness of all.

Literature should be beyond the mere intelligent collection of words, ideas or facts to create fun or meaning, it should be conscious, decisive and intently created to transform its readers for good. Writers are shapers of life; they are the wheels controlling what direction our minds travel to and how far the journey goes. They are the gods that determine what creed or rituals befitting for shaping the extent of our realization of truth.

When I’m quiet as dead

Like a corpse left in the coffer

Do not think I need your touch or voice

Do not even try…

I’m trying to listen

Do not cry or mourn my lost presence

Understand it and stay calm.

When I’m old and unknown

Still strapped to my rocking chair

Do not pity or try to move my ebon flesh

Do not get weary of my silence

For I am trying to listen

Eventually when I stand on my feet

Walking through my farm and smiling

Do not ask me why or what had changed

I’m the same, still listening

Only that now I hear what I’ve been seeking

Not the melodies in your voice or greetings

But the peace in the wind

The space traversing form I have lost many years

But I’m grateful I finally heard the music of oneness

It is this that gets me dancing.