‘The Africa I Live In’ Short Story Competition

Opportunities when African writers meet on the same pages at the continental level are few and sometimes, decades apart, especially when this congregation is within Africa itself. For young, un-established writers, this kind of opportunity and the chances that it offers are even rarer.

Kwani Trust is pleased to announce such a congress with the launch of this Africa-wide short story competition. The official narrative of ‘inherent’ goodness, indigenous beauty and widespread historicism has now been running on empty for a while. So we seek newer stories that reflect our day to day lives both private and public: the stories and narratives exchanged in schools, colleges, public transport, offices, churches, pubs, streets, suburbs, estates, trading centres, valleys and hills. Stories told through song and dance, paint and brush, word and phrase, lens and shutter – stories now being told by a new generation, spurred by new imaginations, revealed by new narratives and expressions.

At Kwani Trust, we feel that these directions cannot be achieved until we come to terms with who we are and what we have been. And the first step in this is in telling and recognizing our own stories and especially that of a new generation.

The guiding spirit is creative innovation.

This call-out is unique for targeting writers under the age of 30, on a continent in which young people virtually have no international airing. It is an important, historical opportunity that opens the way for new directions in African writing to emerge, an exciting vent which is likely to throw up endless surprises.

Published authors will be paid a fee of $100.

Submission Guidelines for Short Stories on New African writing.

Deadline: 7th September 2009

* Word count: 3000 – 8000 words.
* Theme: ‘The Africa I Live In’.
* This is adult fiction (in the sense that it is not ‘children’s fiction’). Since we are targeting a certain generation, we will only accept entries from writers born after 1978.
* The work ought to be in English or ‘Englishes’ – particularly since we are not making translations.
* The story must be ‘new’ in the sense that it is ‘unpublished in book form’ (We will accept submissions which have previously been published in magazines.)
* Please send submissions by email , attached as a WORD doc, to myafrica.kwani@gmail.com or by post to the Kwani Trust address (see below) as a typescript (no handwritten scripts please).

Published authors will be paid a fee of $100.

Formatting Guidelines :

* Name of author (Times New Roman, 12. Bold left justified)
* Contact address, telephone number and email (Times New Roman, 12. Bold left justified)
* Title of short story (Times New Roman 14, bold, centered)
* The story should be in Times New Roman, black, size 12, justified, 1.5 line spacing.
* Page numbers and name of author on every page please.
* Word count at the end of the story, bold and left justified.

If your story is chosen for any of the Kwani? publications, we will ask you to provide a few sentences about yourself and your work (around 200 words).

ABOUT KWANI TRUST

Kwani Trust was established in 2003 by eminent Kenyan writer, Binyavanga Wainaina (winner of the 2002 Caine Prize) and a cohort of Kenyan writers. It is dedicated to nurturing and developing Kenya’s and Africa’s intellectual, creative and imagination resources through strategic literary interventions. Kwani Trust houses and distributes literary products and services globally and since inception, has been at the forefront in publishing contemporary creative fiction, non fiction and poetry.

Among the notable writers published in the journal Kwani? include writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author of ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ and ‘Purple Hibiscus’. In addition, Kwani? has tackled hot-button issues, most notably the Post Election Violence in Kenya which followed the December 2007 elections. Kwani? has also included within its output graphic narratives, and is due to launch a graphic novel in September 2009.