The CANEX Creative Writing Workshop 2026 is now accepting applications from emerging prose writers of African and Caribbean heritage. Running alongside CANEX WKND 2026 in Lagos, Nigeria, the fully funded five-day residential programme offers intensive training in creative writing, publishing, and the business of building a literary career. Selected participants will receive mentorship from acclaimed authors, editors, and publishing professionals, with all travel, accommodation, meals, and workshop materials covered.

The workshop is open to writers aged 18 and above who are citizens of an African Union or CARICOM member country, including members of the diaspora. Applicants must submit a completed application form, a 250-word statement of purpose, a 500-word original prose sample (fiction or creative nonfiction), and valid proof of citizenship. The programme is open to writers working in English, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, and indigenous African or Caribbean languages. Previous participants are not eligible, and full attendance throughout the five-day programme is required.

Designed to help emerging writers strengthen their craft while gaining industry knowledge and building lasting literary networks, the workshop focuses exclusively on prose fiction and creative nonfiction. There is no application fee, and successful applicants will be announced ahead of the November 2026 programme in Lagos. The application deadline is yet to be announced, so interested writers are encouraged to apply early and monitor CANEX for further updates.