Announcing the AfRo Writing Competition

Remember the call for submissions post for Africana Pocketbooks in July? (if you don't remember, you can click here). There's more good news where that came from. 

Africana Pocketbooks (Ghana) has launched a romance writing competition, dubbed the AfRo Writing competition (AfRo was coined from Africana Romance), with the objective of producing Ghanaian romance novels featuring locations, heroes, heroines and storylines that reflect contemporary Ghana.

The competition will run on Facebook through an interactive process where writers, readers and friends can contribute to the creative process.

If you're already polishing your manuscript in your head, then keep reading; it gets better:

COMPETITION DETAILS

• The competition runs from 1st September, 2011 – 1stDecember, 2011.
• There will be three stages of the competition.
• Stories entered in the competition must be completed by 1st December, 2011, as the winner will be expected to submit a full manuscript at the end of the competition.
• To enter the competition, leave comments or ‘like’ any entries, please join the Afro Romance Writing Competition Facebook group.

STAGE 1: Synopsis: 1 Sept. – 22 Sept., 2011

• Post a short synopsis of for your romance on AfRo’s Facebook page by using the "create doc" function. Synopsis shall not exceed 1000 words, and should cover the entire story including the end (no cliffhangers or teasers, please). Remember: Keep it simple.
• Entries will be subjected to peer reviews in an open, creative process taking place on Facebook.
• The process will be overseen and moderated by representatives of Africana Pocketbooks.
• On 22nd September, the editorial panel will select ten (10) synopses that will go through to Stage 2.
• All ten winners will get feedback on their synopses.

STAGE 2: Get writing: 30 September – 20 October, 2011

• The ten winners will enter Stage 2 of the competition by uploading the first chapters of their novel on AfRo’s Facebook page, using the "create doc" function. Chapters should not exceed 3000 words.
• Entries will be subjected to peer reviews in an open, creative process taking place on Facebook.
• The process will be overseen and moderated by representative of Africana Pocketbooks.
• On 20th October, the editorial panel will select five (5) winners who will go through to Stage 3 of the competition.
• All five winners will get feedback on their sample chapters.

STAGE 3: Get serious: 28 October – 18 November, 2011

• The five winners will enter Stage 3 of the competition by uploading the next three chapters of their novel on AfRo’s Facebook page. The chapters should be posted one at a time, one week apart, i.e.:
• Chapter two must be posted between 28th October and 3rdNovember
• Chapter three must be posted between 4th and 10thNovember
• Chapter four must be posted between 11th and 31stNovember

• Chapters should not exceed 3000 words each.
• The samples will be subjected to peer reviews in an open, creative process taking place on Facebook.
• The process will be overseen and moderated by representatives of Africana Pocketbooks.

The Winner of the AfRo competition will be announced on 1stDecember, 2011.

THE PRIZE

The overall winner will enter into an editorial process with Africana Pocketbooks and our editor, which will result in a contract including full editorial process, publishing and printing of at least 10,000 copies, and promotion in Ghana. The finished title will be scheduled for publication in 2012.

The two runners-up will get detailed feedback on their entries with the aim of making them eligible for future publication.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE COMPETITION

• Eligibility: The competition is open to Ghanaian writers, or writers resident in Ghana
• Story settings: Stories must be set in Ghana and feature Ghanaian locations, heroes and heroines.
• Guidelines: Submission must adhere to the Africana Romance (AfRo) writing guidelines.
• Stories must not have been submitted earlier to any other publishing houses

Good luck to all

FWoWA

Penguin Prize for African Writing: Update

Just a quick update for anyone who entered the Penguin Prize for African Writing competition. For those who read the announcement (see below), you’d remember the shortlist was supposed to be announced in April (last month).

It wasn’t

Here’s why.

The competition recorded a whopping 250 entries for fiction and 50 for non-fiction! In light of this larger-than-anticipated response, the assessment period was extended. So, instead of April, the shortlist will be announced in June, 2010. Final prizes are still scheduled for September, 2010.

Mark your calendars.
To read the entire update from Penguin SA, click here.

FWoWA

Penguin Prize for African Writing

I have shared this info in the Yahoo group but for some reason failed to share it here. I apologise for this oversight.

Penguin South Africa is holding a writing competition for African writers. The Penguin Prize for African Writing is open to previously unpublished full-length works (60K-100K words) in two categoires: adult fiction and non-fiction.

The prize in each category will be R50 000 (approx. $ 5,000) and a publishing contract with Penguin Books South Africa, with worldwide distribution via Penguin Group companies.

The deadline for submissions for both categories is 30th of January, 2010. The shortlist will be announced in April 2010 and the final prizes will be awarded in September 2010.

Best of all, there is no entry fee!

For more info and a link to the full criteria, click here.

Good luck to all who plan to enter.

ciao,
Empi