The Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry
The Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry is an annual award of USD $1000. Established in 2015 and named for late literary philanthropist and APBF friend Glenna Luschei, this pan-African poetry prize is the only one of its kind in the world and aims to honor and promote African poetry written in English or in translation and to recognize a significant book published each year by an African poet. Each year, a significant African writer judges the contest. Open annually from May to October to submissions from authors and publishers. Winner will be announced in the following year.
The Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry is open to any book of original poetry, in English, published during the previous calendar year in a standard edition of a full-length collection of poetry written by any African writer. Books must be submitted in the year after their publication. (For example, books published in 2024 may be submitted for consideration between the 1st of May and 1st of October 2025).
Eligibility:
- An “African writer” is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, who is a national or resident of an African country, or whose parents are African.
- A standard edition is 48 pages or more in length.
- Only poetry submissions in English can be considered, but they welcome published works of translation for consideration.
- Self-published books and books published by the APBF and its African Poetry Series are ineligible.
No entry fee is required to submit to this contest, but an entry form is required for each title submitted. Click here for the entry form.
Publishers may submit as many eligible titles as they wish. The publisher should send four copies of each book to the APBF, postmarked between the 1st of May and the 1st of October 2026.
Please direct questions regarding submissions to APBF Coordinator, Kerri Malone at apbf@brown.edu.
Deadline: 1 October 2026