The prize of USD $1,500 will be awarded to the winning poet, celebrating excellence in contemporary African poetry and encouraging new voices from across the continent.
The Evaristo African Poetry Prize is open exclusively to African writers, defined as individuals born in Africa, nationals or residents of an African country, or those with African parentage. Eligible participants include poets who have not yet published a full-length poetry collection. Self-published works, chapbooks, and pamphlets do not affect eligibility.
Submissions must be in English, though translated poems are also accepted, with translators receiving a portion of the prize money if their work wins. Individuals affiliated as past or present paid employees of the University of Nebraska Press, Akashic Books, or Amalion Press, as well as current faculty, students, or staff at the University of Nebraska, are not eligible to apply. Poets who have released a chapbook through the New-Generation African Poets Chapbooks Box Set series may still enter, provided they have not published a full-length book of poems.
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 we have no specific formatting rules, we suggest sending your manuscript in Times New Roman or Arial, 12-point font, single-spaced.
They 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. All entries must be submitted via Submittable. Poems must be submitted in a single document without any identifying information included. The document should be named after the title of the first poem in the packet.
Alterations cannot be made to poems once entered. The Submittable cover letter, which will be concealed to screeners and judges, should include the entrants’ name, nationality, country of birth, full address including country of permanent residence, personal email address and telephone number.
Manuscripts of 10 poems, no more and no less, will be accepted till 1 November 2025.
For more information, visit African Poetry Book Fund.