Evaristo Prize for African Poetry
The Evaristo Prize for African Poetry is an annual prize of USD $1500 awarded to ten poems written by an African poet.
Eligibility
The Prize is open to African writers. 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.
The prize is open to African poets who have not yet had a full-length poetry book published at the time of submission. Self-published poetry books, chapbooks, and pamphlets are exempt from this stipulation.
Only poems written in English can be considered, but APBF welcome poems in translation for consideration too. In the case that the winning work is translated, a percentage of the prize money would be awarded to the translator.
No past or present paid employees of the University of Nebraska Press, Akashic Books, or Amalion Press, or current faculty, students, or employees at the University of Nebraska are eligible for the prizes.
African poets who have published a chapbook in a New-Generation African Poets Chapbooks Box Set series remain eligible for the Evaristo African Poetry Prize if they have not published a full-length book of poems.
When to send what
- Manuscripts of 10 poems, no more and no less, will be accepted annually between 1 October to 1 November via Submittable. Please do not send any submissions via email.
- Poems must be the original work of the entrant and be no longer than 40 lines each.
- Poems may have been previously published or won previous awards.
- People who have entered previously for the prize can re-submit but are advised to share new poems.
- While they have no specific formatting rules, they suggest sending your manuscript in Times New Roman or Arial, 12-point font, single-spaced. We also prefer one poem per page, meaning a new poem does not begin on the same page on which another ends. The entire submission must be in black ink, no colors.
Please direct questions regarding submissions to apbf@brown.edu.