Applications open for The Island Prize (Africa)

They will work with thewinner on their manuscript, helping them to get it to a point where we can assist them in approaching agents and publishers.

Funding Information

• The winner receives £500.
• The two runners-up will each receive £200 and will be given an individual Zoom session with detailed feedback.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Island Prize is open to African writers aged 18 and over, regardless of place of residence.
• For the purposes of the competition, they define “African writers” as writers born in or having citizenship of any African country.
• You must not be represented by a literary agent or currently under contract with a publisher. If you receive an offer of representation while your novel is under consideration, you must inform them immediately and withdraw.
• Non-fiction, poetry, and short story collections, as well as fiction for children are not eligible.
• There is no restriction as to specific genre – anything from literary fiction to crime thriller is welcome.
• The complete novel should be between 35,000 words and 100,000 words.
• Entrants must not have previously published a novel; this includes self-published or eBook-only editions. To clarify: authors may have previously published poetry collections, short story collections, and non-fiction, but not a Novel.
• Authors who are longlisted may be required to give evidence of their eligibility. Personal information will be kept confidential.
• Pseudonyms may be used, but longlisted authors will be asked to provide their given names. This will be kept confidential.
• Authors with manuscripts that they would like to see in full will be contacted by 31st March 2025 – though this date might have to be extended slightly, depending on the volume of entries received. Authors must be ready to submit the full manuscript to us within a couple of days of being contacted. They will not wait for authors to complete unfinished manuscripts, and their names will be removed from the longlist.
• The shortlisted authors will be announced in the first week of May 2025.
• The winner will be announced sometime in mid-May 2025.

Selection Criteria

• Longlist
  • From the submitted entries, no more than eight authors will be longlisted and invited to submit their full manuscripts.
  • These manuscripts must be complete and ready to submit. They will not wait for authors to finish manuscripts.
  • Longlisted authors will be invited to join a joint Zoom meeting in which general feedback and advice will be given.
• Shortlist
  • From the longlist, a shortlist of three will be chosen.

Application Requirements

• The first three chapters or 10,000 words of the novel;
• A covering statement giving the word count, name and address of the author, the title, and a brief, two-sentence description of the main subjects and themes of the novel;
• A one-page synopsis setting out the basic story.
• Format:
  • Entries should be in a simple font, size 12 – Times New Roman, Garamond, Arial, Calibri are all fine.
  • Please ensure entries are double or 1.5 spaced.
  • All entries should be in Word doc or docx.

For more information, visit Holland House.