Deadline: June 18 (23:59 BST).
You could win $100 in the AFREADA X Africa Writes Competition. AFREADA and Africa Writes invite writers to send in a 500-word short story, loosely based on acclaimed Congolese writer Alain Mabanckou’s Tomorrow I’ll be Twenty. Written from 10-year-old Michel’s perspective, the story begins:
In this country, a boss should always be bald and have a big belly. My uncle isn’t bald, he hasn’t got a big belly, and you don’t realise, the first time you see him, that he is the actual boss of a big office in the centre of town…
You must start your entry with the opening lines of Tomorrow I’ll be Twenty, by Alain Mabanckou. Basically, you are to continue the story, pick up where Mabanckou left off. However, you do not have to remain bound by the circumstances of the story. But, you must write your story from the perspective of a child living somewhere in Africa.
Do not exceed 500 words, including the excerpt. And, email your entry to editor@afreada.com as a Microsoft Word attachment. Please put “AFREADA x Africa Writes Competition – Your Full Name” in the subject line. And include your contact details, social media handles, and a 100-words max bio in the body of the email.
Both publishers offer the £100 cash prize and publication in AFREADA. So, they will unveil the winner at the Africa Writes opening R.A.P party on June 30th.