The AKO Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual short story award. The Prize is awarded for a short story by an African writer published in English, whether they reside in Africa or elsewhere.
The winner is awarded a cash prize of £10,000, and the other four shortlisted writers will receive £500 each.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:
- The story must have been published in the five years preceding the submissions deadline. For 2022 eligibility, the judges will only consider work published after 31st January 2017
- Stories less than 3,000 words or exceeding 10,000 words are not eligible for the Prize.
- Short stories must be submitted by a publisher – including publishers of physical and digital literary journals or magazines. Self-published and unpublished works are not eligible.
- Publishers must obtain consent from the writer(s) before submitting their stories for the Prize.
- Stories submitted for the Prize must have been published in English. Translated stories are eligible, provided that an English translation has been published.
- Stories that have been previously submitted for the Caine Prize are not eligible.
- Genres not eligible for entry include stories for children, factual writing, plays and autobiography/biography.
- Submissions must specify which African country the author comes from and the word count.
- Publishers are encouraged to submit multiple short stories as long as they do not submit more than one story by the same author.
Benefits
Money
Winner receives a cash prize of £10,000
Four shortlisted writers receive a cash prize of £500 each
Exposure
Opportunity to participate in interviews, panel discussions and readings with a global audience
Experience
Opportunity to participate in the Prize’s various programmes
Submission
- Each story must be submitted by the publisher via the entry form on our website.
- The submission form will become available here when the submissions window opens in December 2021
If you have any queries regarding the above, please contact via email at info@caineprize.com.
Application Deadline: 31st January 2022 at midnight (GMT)
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the AKO Caine Prize 2022
