Chines Nwa-Echemma’s Young Writers Prize

Chines Nwa-Echemma’s Young Writers Prize, an initiative of Chinedu Sunday Nwa-Echemma, is awarded to an individual of high school age (12–18 years) whose story resonates with the theme for the year. Submissions are open to 18 African countries and accepted in English, French, and Swahili (translations included for non-English submissions). This submission for the Chines Nwa-Echemma’s Young Writers Prize is entirely free!

Open: 1 September
Deadline: 10 November
Sponsor: Chinedu Sunday Nwa-Echemma
Awards: NGN50,000 plus a NGN 50,000 worth book publishing prize, to be awarded February 25, 2023.

Guidelines

Entries in French and Swahili are accepted as long as they are sent alongside a translated copy. (Do note: The translator will receive no monetary compensation should the translated piece win the Prize, due recognition however will be given to the translator.)

The winning entry will be published in its indigenous language alongside the translation.
Submitting to Chines Nwa-Echemma’s Young Writers Prize means you agree that your short story, even though it did not win can be published in our anthology and no financial stipends will be given to you. Due recognition will however be given to Writers whose work will appear in the anthology.

For English Entries

• Only short stories submitted as MS Word documents will be considered.
• Submissions must not include the author’s name or initials in the body of the work.
• Only submissions in Calibri/Arial font, 13, and a spacing of 1.5 will be considered.
• The submission format in the body of the work should follow this sequence: title of story, word count, and the body of the work.
• Your submission should not be less than 2,500 words and more than 3,000 words.
• Only original, never published short stories will be considered.

For Non-English Entries

• For writers: Do keep to the guidelines stated above.
• Your submission should be sent alongside the translation.
• Your translated submission should have the translator’s name attached.
• Your translated submission format should follow this sequence: Title of Story In your indigenous language (translated from “The Title in English”) E.g., Sur l’amour et le suicide. (Translated from French. On Loving and Suicide), Word Count and Name of Translator only!
• The translated copy word count should not exceed 3,500 words.

List Of Eligible Countries

• Republic of Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Cameroon
• Chad
• Congo Brazzaville
• Cote D’Ivoire
• D.R. Congo
• Equatorial Guinea
• Gabon
• Guinea Bissau
• Mali
• Nigeria
• Rwanda
• Senegal
• Sierra Leone
• Tanzania
• Togo
• Uganda

The Chines Nwa-Echemma Young Writer Prize will award a single young writer of high school age whose story resonates with our theme for this year, “Grey: telling the unconventional stories”.

Look around you. What’s happening that your conventional media outlet is not reporting? Employ the use of fiction and tell us about it for a chance to win NGN50,000 plus a NGN50,000 worth of publishing deal with Poemify Publishers.

Click on this link to submit your entries for the Chines Nwa-Echemma’s Young Writers Prize.