Deadline: Nov. 30, 2020.
Akuko is a new online magazine that aims to champion writing by Black writers from the African continent and its vast diaspora. Akuko means story in Igbo and rooster in Yoruba.
It defines Africa not by the physical continent but by its descendants spread all over the Diaspora. Akuko is currently open for submissions to our inaugural literary competition.
There are three categories: poetry, fiction, and nonfiction and the top submissions in each section will receive a monetary award and will be published in the first edition. You can submit up to three poems, in whatever style, as long as the total word count is 8,000 or less. The three poems can be related in theme or they can all be completely different from each other.
Only one entry will be allowed for this competition. Multiple submissions are not acceptable. Multiple entries, in either the same or in a different category, will automatically disqualify you. Submissions cannot be previously published. Please make sure any work you submit is not being submitted to other publications.
As part of your submission, you will be asked to submit a 250-word bio, which should include information about how you self-identify.
Cash prizes include $250 for 1st place; $100 for 2nd place; $50 for 3rd place; and $25 for four honorable mentions.
File formatting guidelines.
Use Times New Roman or Calibri, 12pt-sized font, standard 1” margin spacing. Do not include your name or contact information in the file name, header, footer, or title page of your submission. Should you include any identifying information, your submission will automatically be disqualified. The submitted work should be a .doc, .docx, or .rtf file. DO NOT submit PDF files.
For fiction and nonfiction: submission should be double-spaced; for poetry: submission should be single-spaced unless unique spacing is deliberate for the poetic technique/style.
The file name should be the title of your piece. For poetry, if you’re submitting more than one poem, please title it the name of the first poem (you can add “and other poems” to the file name). DO NOT include your personal name or any identifying information in the file name.
Manuscripts must be predominantly written in English, however, the team welcomes the use of African words and language in your submission.
Visit the Akuko website to learn more and determine what kinds of stories it seeks.
Olabisi Joshua
If truly word is the currency of ideas to change the world. Akuko wakes up to give hope to the literary world.