One of the many impacts of COVID-19 has been on writers’ schedules and headspace. Wasafiri– a dynamic platform for mapping new landscapes in contemporary international writing – is acknowledging this by extending the deadline for their new writing prize. The new closing date of the Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize is 15 June 2020 at 17:00 BST.

The Wasafiri New Writing Prize supports new writers, with no limits on age, gender, nationality or background. The winners of each category received a £1,000 cash prize and will be published by Wasafiri in print and online. They will also be offered the Chapter and Verse or Free Reads mentoring scheme in partnership with The Literary Consultancy (dependent on eligibility). Shortlisted writers will be published online with Wasafiri and may be eligible for Free Reads mentoring also.

This year the judges include Penguin editor Simon Prosser, judging fiction, Guardian journalist Aida Edemariam, judging life writing, and award-winning poet Raymond Antrobus judging poetry. Publisher and poet Kadija Sesay is chairing the judging panel.

Image courtesy of Wasafiri

Please note that submissions should not exceed 3,000 words.

Eligibility

1. The competition is open to any nationality and any age group.
2. The competition is open to anyone who has not published a book-length work in the genre that they are entering. However, if a writer has only self-published a book-length work, they are still eligible for the prize.
3. Work submitted must not have been previously published (excluding self-published work).
4. Eligibility depends on the submission remaining unpublished at the time of shortlisting.
5. The competition is not open to members of the Wasafiri Board or Wasafiri staff, or any individual involved in the administration of the prize.
6. Entries must be received at Wasafiri no later than 5pm BST on 15 June 2020.
7. Failure to meet the conditions of entry will mean that a submission is automatically disqualified from the competition. Entry fee will not be refunded.

Please read the full terms and conditions before entering the prize.

Once you have read the terms and conditions, you can enter the Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize here.

The Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize is supported by Queen Mary University of London, Routledge, and The Literary Consultancy.

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Find out much more about Wasafiri on their website: https://www.wasafiri.org/about/ and follow them on Twitter @WasafiriMag and on Facebook. 

Categories: Calls for & opportunities

Tags: Call for submissions, contemporary African literature, international, literary prizes, literature, Poetry, Prizes, short stories, Wasafiri, writing