Deadline: February 16, 2025

As African writers, we are often faced with a double dose of challenges. Firstly, getting published within African countries can be incredibly difficult because local publishers are often constrained by finances. Secondly, for many writers getting published overseas is almost impossible because the rest of the world has certain ideas of what an African story should be. Having experienced these challenges firsthand – being told that a novel is ‘too African’ or ‘not African enough’ – They know how important it is that stories from Africa be given a wide variety of platforms so that they can be shared at home and abroad without the need to fit certain moulds. This is one step towards bridging the gap between here and there. In fact, it is through prizes like these that authors across the continent can gain the confidence to tell stories as they wish. The hope is that, with time, such stories will become appreciated across the globe, without first being labelled as an exception or a surprise.

Benefits

• The winner receives £500. The Island Prize is not about money, but rather about assisting the winner in navigating the difficult world of the publishing industry. They will work with the winner on their manuscript, helping them to get it to a point where they can assist them in approaching agents and publishers.
• The two runners-up will each receive £200 and will be given an individual Zoom session with detailed feedback.

Eligibility

The Island Prize is open to African writers aged 18 and over, regardless of place of residence.
For the purposes of the competition, they define “African writers” as writers born in or having citizenship of any African country.

• You must not be represented by a literary agent or currently under contract with a publisher. If you receive an offer of representation while your novel is under consideration, you must inform them immediately and withdraw.
• Non-fiction, poetry, and short story collections, as well as fiction for children are NOT eligible.
• There is no restriction as to specific genre – anything from literary fiction to crime thriller is welcome.
• The complete novel should be between 35,000 words and 100,000 words.
• Entrants must not have previously published a novel; this includes self-published or eBook-only editions. To clarify: authors may have previously published poetry collections, short story collections, and non-fiction, BUT NOT A NOVEL.
• Authors who are longlisted may be required to give evidence of their eligibility. Personal information will be kept confidential.
• Pseudonyms may be used, but longlisted authors will be asked to provide their given names. This will be kept confidential.
• Authors with manuscripts that they would like to see in full will be contacted by 31st March 2025 – though this date might have to be extended slightly, depending on the volume of entries received. Authors must be ready to submit the full manuscript to them within a couple of days of being contacted. They WILL NOT wait for authors to complete unfinished manuscripts, and their names will be removed from the longlist.
• The shortlisted authors will be announced in the first week of May 2025.
• The winner will be announced sometime in mid-May 2025.

Application

Send the following to theisland@hhousebooks.com:

• The first three chapters or 10,000 words of the novel.
• A covering statement giving the word count, name and address of the author, the title, and a brief, two-sentence description of the main subjects and themes of the novel.
• A one-page synopsis setting out the basic story.

Format:

• Entries should be in a simple font, size 12 – Times New Roman, Garamond, Arial, Calibri are all fine.
• Please ensure entries are double or 1.5 spaced.
• All entries should be in Word doc or docx.

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