The Kalemba Short Story Prize 2018 is open to writers from Zambia. The winner will receive US$1000 and will be announced at a special ceremony in Lusaka.
Zambia isn’t too famous for its literary output on the African stage at this moment in time. The most famous name right now is Namwali Serpell who burst onto the international scene when she won the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2015 with a very unique story. Her attitude to the prize was even more interesting as she shared her prize with fellow contestants.
While Serpell is the flavour of the moment, she’s not the only Zambian writer out there of course. There is Ellen Banda-Aaku with novels like Patchwork (2011) and Madam 1st Lady (2016) to her name as well as numerous books for children as well as short stories featuring in publications galore. Also there is Binwell Sinyangwe has the Quills of Desire (1996) and A Cowrie of Hope (2000) and the “original Zambian writer” Wilbur Smith who has written well, all the novels.
The good people at the Ukusefya Words recognised that maybe an intervention was due and they know this as they are the publishers of the best-selling book Insoselo na Mapinda: Ancient Bemba Wisdom. The publishers have announced the Kalemba Short Story Prize 2018 (KSSP) to award the best unpublished short fiction of between 2,000 and 5,000 words written in English by a Zambian writer. The winner will receive US$1000 and will be announced at a special ceremony in Lusaka.
The inaugural 2018 Kalemba Short Story Prize (KSSP) opens on October 15, 2017 for submitting stories and closes on December 15, 2017.
The new prize is judged by Mulenga Kapwepwe one of the leading names in the Zambian arts.
For more details about the rules on eligibility, please click here.
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