Submissions open for Evaristo Prize for African Poetry

The Prize encourages a new generation of poets who might one day become an international presence.

Prize Information

• Prize amount: USD $1,500.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Prize is open to African writers. An “African writer” is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, who is a national or resident of an African country, or whose parents are African.
• The prize is open to African poets who have not yet had a full-length poetry book published at the time of submission. Self-published poetry books, chapbooks and pamphlets are exempt from this stipulation.
• Only poems written in English can be considered, but they welcome poems in translation for consideration too. In the case that the winning work is translated, a percentage of the prize money would be awarded to the translator.
• No past or present paid employees of the University of Nebraska Press, Akashic Books, or Amalion Press, or current faculty, students, or employees at the University of Nebraska are eligible for the prizes.
• African poets who have published a chapbook in a New-Generation African Poets Chapbooks Box Set series remain eligible for the Evaristo African Poetry Prize if they have not published a full-length book of poems.

Judging Criteria

• The APBF will convene a judging panel every year.
• To ensure confidentiality and fairness, all submissions to the Evaristo Prize are handled by their Book Prize Coordinator.
• The APBF reserves the right to not award the Prize if, in the judges’ opinion, such an action is justified. APBF also reserves the right to split the Prize if they decide that more than one poet is worthy of winning it.
• A shortlist of poets will be announced in April, a winner in May. All shortlisted and winning poets agree to allow the APBF website to post their ten submitted poems.

Application Requirements

• Poems must be the original work of the entrant and be no longer than 40 lines each.
• Poems may have been previously published or won previous awards.
• People who have entered previously for the prize can re-submit but are advised to share new poems.
• While they have no specific formatting rules, they suggest sending your manuscript in Times New Roman or Arial, 12-point font, single-spaced. They also prefer one poem per page, meaning a new poem does not begin on the same page on which another ends. The entire submission must be in black ink, no colors.
• All entries must be submitted via Submittable. Poems must be submitted in a single document without any identifying information included. Alterations cannot be made to poems once entered. The Submittable cover letter, which will be concealed to screeners and judges, should include the entrants’ name, nationality, country of birth, full address including country of permanent residence, personal email address and telephone number.

For more information, visit African Poetry Book Fund.