The 2025 Dinaane Debut Fiction Award

The Jacana Literary Foundation invites aspiring authors to submit their entries for the 2025 Dinaane Debut Fiction Award.

The Dinaane Debut Fiction Award, previously known as the European Union Literary Award, celebrates the voices of debut authors. They welcome unpublished manuscripts in English or translations from other South African languages.

The winner will receive R35 000 and a publishing contract with Jacana Media, a leading name in South African publishing.

Only permanent residents or citizens of South Africa and other southern African countries in the SADC region (including Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique, Anglo Tanzania, Namibia, Mauritius, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar and Seychelles) may apply for the award.

Manuscripts should be a minimum of 40 000 words in length. Short stories do not qualify. Although the entries must be primarily in English, they welcome innovative writing and the exploration of languages, capturing the multilingual landscape in the continent and the world.

Submissions close on the 22nd of October 2024.

View all submission requirements here.

Click here to submit your manuscripts through the submission portal.