The Evaristo Prize for African Poetry is an annual prize awarded to ten poems written by an African poet.
Established first as the Brunel International African Poetry Prize (BIAPP) in 2012 by British writer Bernardine Evaristo, who founded and managed the prize for ten years, the Evaristo Prize was renamed and passed on to be managed by the African Poetry Book Fund in 2022. A close partner of APBF, the BIAPP sought to “encourage a new generation of poets who might one day become an international presence.” Indeed, the excellence of BIAPP winners continues to be celebrated globally as many of the poets have gone to publish chapbooks, full-length poetry collections, and win more prizes. The BIAPP announced their final winner in May 2022.
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 they 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.
Award
- An award of USD $1,500 will be presented to the winner.
Requirements
- 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. The organizers 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.
Application
Manuscripts of 10 poems, no more and no less, will be accepted annually between October 1 and November 1 via Submittable. Do not send any submissions via email. They do not have the capacity to track submissions by email and any manuscripts received as such will not be considered.
Deadline: November 1, 2023
Click HERE to Apply
