Short Story Day Africa 2017 has unveiled the theme for writers who wish to submit to the prize. The theme for the 2017 cycle is “ID.”
Short Story Day Africa was established to celebrate the diversity of Africa’s voices and tell you who we really are; what we love; love to eat, read, write about. The initiative brought together writers, readers, booksellers, publishers, teachers and school children from all over the globe to write, submit, read, workshop and discuss stories.
In 2013, the initiative set up a prize to showcase the best in short story writing on the continent with the winner pocketing a handy South African R10 000. Apart from the winner going home with some decent beer money, the shortlisted writers would also be featured in the annual Short Story Day Africa Anthology. Previous winners of the prize include Sibongile Fisher (2016), Cat Hellisen (2015), Diane Awerbuck (2014) and Okwiri Oduor (2013).
The organisers of the SSDA, as they like calling it, have started the new cycle for 2017 by announcing the theme in their annual callout; “ID.” They are looking for innovative short fiction that explores identity, especially (but not limited to) the themes of gender identity and sexuality.
In modern Africa, our identities are too often defined for us and not by us, trapped by society, biology and history. In 2017, they hope to see work that seeks to break and redefine the strictures put onto our identities, as individuals and as peoples. Fiction that looks beyond the boundaries of expectation, and peers into the truest definitions of ourselves.
They have also announced some handy information appertaining to the prize. For one, this year the prize is US$800 for the winner, US$200 for the second and US$100 for the third.
They start receiving submissions for the prize on July 1st, 2017 and they close on July 31st. If you wondering why the early call out it makes perfect sense. This allows you the time to write a story that works with the theme or at least fashion an already written story to it.
For more information about eligible for the prize like nationality (African basically) please click here. Good luck short story writers.
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