Submission to the coveted Cain Prize 2012 are now being accepted through January 31, 2012. The Prize is awarded to a short story by an African writer published in English, whether in Africa or elsewhere. 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 whose parents are African, and whose work has reflected African sensibilities.
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).
For practical reasons, unpublished work and work in other languages is not eligible. Works translated into English from other languages are not excluded, provided they have been published in translation, and should such a work win, a proportion of the prize would be awarded to the translator.
The award is made in July each year, the deadline for submissions being 31 January. Works received after that date will be put forward to the next year’s prize. The short-list is selected from work originally published in the five years preceding the submissions deadline and not previously considered for a Caine Prize. The deadline for the next prize is 31 January 2012; works must have been published between 1 February 2007 and the closing date.
In general it is unwise to delay the submission of entries until shortly before the deadline: postal and delivery hiccups can easily result in material arriving too late. It is far better to submit material a few weeks in advance.
There is no application form. Submissions should be made by publishers, in the form of six original published copies of the work for consideration.
Every effort is made to publicise the work of the short-listed authors through the broadcast as well as the printed media.
Winning and short-listed authors will be invited to participate in writers’ workshops in Africa, London and elsewhere as resources permit.
For detailed information on submitting your work, click here.
