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UPDATE: the deadline has been extended to August 15
Bakwa magazine, the leading online literary and cultural magazine in English in Cameroon, which has been at the forefront of cross-cultural exchange, intends to celebrate emerging writers from Cameroon by giving them the opportunity to submit stories which, inasmuch as embrace realism, also highlight fantasy, science fiction, magic realism, romance, epic, political allegory and satire.
This is a one-off short story competition for Cameroonians residing in Cameroon or elsewhere in the world, who are 39 years and below. Entries can be in either English or French and should be between 3000 – 5000 words. The winner will receive FCFA 100,000, while the runner-up will receive FCFA 50,000. The best stories submitted for the competition will subsequently be published in an anthology in 2017. A series of post-competition events will include writing workshops, readings and a number of translation projects.
We’ll be receiving submissions from May 10 – August 15.
About Bakwa Magazine
Founded in the last quarter of 2011 by Dzekashu MacViban, Bakwa is an online magazine based in Yaounde, Cameroon, which rose out of the need to fill the lacuna created by the absence of high standard cultural and literary magazines in Cameroon, notably the defunct Pala Pala magazine. It highlights a new and dynamic Africa and focuses on cultural and literary criticism about Cameroon and Africa, as well as being a space where African writers can be published, with the intention of boosting Cameroonian and African literature.
Prize Details
The judging process will be anonymous. The prize administrators will make sure that all personal information is removed before sending the stories to the judges.
A shortlist of six stories will be selected in November, from which a winner and runner-up will be chosen.
The winner will receive FCFA 100,000, while the runner-up will receive FCFA 50,000.
A series of post-competition events will include writing workshops, readings and a number of translation projects, as well as publicity via social media and news outlets.
Eligibility & Submission Guidelines
This competition is open to Cameroonians between the ages of 18 – 39, who live in Cameroon or elsewhere.
Entries may be in English or French.
Stories must be unpublished.
Stories should range between 3000 – 5000 words and the only acceptable formats include PDF and Word (.doc and .docx) files.
The email should include the author’s name, email, phone number and country of residence as well as the attached short story. Anyone who is unable to submit via email should email us for alternate submission means.
When submitting, the subject of the email should be “Story Competition” + “Title of Story” for example: Story Competition, Beasts of No Nation.
Submit one entry per person; we will not accept multiple submissions.
All submissions must reach us by July 31, 2016.
Submissions should be sent to bakwaeditor@gmail.com
Partners
Goethe-Institut Kamerun
The Goethe-Institut is the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany with a global reach. We promote knowledge of the German language abroad and foster international cultural cooperation.
Phoneme Media
Phoneme Media is a nonprofit publishing and film production house (based in LA, California) fiscally sponsored by PEN Center USA, committed to discovering international writers, translators, and artists, and connecting them to new audiences around the world. Phoneme Media exclusively publishes literature in translation.
