Caine Prize for African Writing -- Full Travel Scholarship plus £10,000 Prize

The Caine Prize for African Writing

Program(s) Offered: Contest
Program Level: Award
Provider: The Caine Prize
Country to Work in: African countries

Scholarship Description
The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literature prize awarded to an African writer of a short story published in English, whose indicative length is between 3000 and 10,000 words.

'An African writer’ is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, or who is a national of an African country, or who has a parent who is African by birth or nationality. The Caine Prize is awarded to a short story by an African writer published in English, whether in Africa or elsewhere.

The Caine prize was launched in 2000 to encourage and highlight the richness and diversity of African writing by bringing it to a wider audience internationally. The focus on the short story reflects the contemporary development of the African story-telling tradition.

Eligibility
Eligibility include:

• Unpublished work is not eligible for the Caine Prize.
• Submissions should be made by publishers only.
• Only fictional work is eligible.
• Only one story per author will be considered in any one year.
• Submissions should specify which African country the author comes from and the word count.
• We require 6 copies of the work in its originally published version.
• If the work is published in a book or journal, we would like to receive at least one copy of the book / journal and five photocopies; but particularly where several stories are submitted from one anthology we would like if possible to receive six copies of the book / journal itself.
• If the work is published online, we would like to receive six photocopies.

Please note that works which do not conform to the criteria will not be considered for the prize. Please do not waste your own time and postage by sending in material which is unsuitable. Works not eligible for entry include stories for children, factual writing, plays, biography, works shorter than 3000 words and unpublished work. If you are not sure whether your work is eligible, please email us for advice

Eligible groups
Citizens of African countries

Number of awards
There will be 5 awards

Program benefits
Winning and short-listed authors will be invited to participate in writers’ workshops in Africa, London and elsewhere as resources permit. There is a cash prize of £10,000 for the winning author and a travel award for each of the short-listed candidates (up to five in all). The shortlisted candidates will also receive a Prize of £500. The winner is also invited to go to three literature festivals in Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria.

Method of Application
There is no application form. To apply please send six original published copies of the work for consideration to the Caine Prize office including a letter from the publisher.

• If the work is published in a book or journal, we would like to receive at least one copy of the book / journal and five photocopies; but particularly where several stories are submitted from one anthology we would like if possible to receive six copies of the book / journal itself.
• If published in a magazine or journal we will accept one original copy plus five photocopies, but would prefer six original copies.
• If the work is published online, we would like to receive six printed copies.

Address and post the eligible submission to:

The Caine Prize for African Writing
51 Southwark Street
London
SE1 1RU

DEADLINES:
The deadline to enter the 2019 Prize is 31st January 2019

PLEASE NOTE:
The award is made in July each year. Works received after the 31st January will be put forward to the next year's prize.

The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the best original short story by an African writer, whether in Africa or elsewhere, published in the English language. The £10,000 prize was founded in the United Kingdom in 2000, and was named in memory of Sir Michael Harris Caine, former Chairman of Booker Group plc. Because of the Caine Prize's connection to the Booker Prize, the award is sometimes called the "African Booker".

Application Deadline: 31st January 2019
Open to International Applicants: No (ONLY Africans)

More Scholarship Information and Application

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