The Evaristo Prize for African Poetry is open for submission for its annual prize of USD $1,500 awarded to ten poems written by an African poet. 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 we 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 or Brown University 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.

Manuscripts of 10 poems, no more and no less, will be accepted annually between October 1st and November 1st via Submittable. Please do not send any submissions via email. We do not have the capacity to track submissions by email and any manuscripts received as such will not be considered.

Poets should note the following:

• 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 we have no specific formatting rules, we suggest sending your manuscript in Times New Roman or Arial, 12-point font, single-spaced. We 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.”

Click the link to submit

https://africanpoetrybf.brown.edu/contest-prizes/evaristo-prize-for-african-poetry/

Author

Paul Olayioye