Deadline: June 30, 2018.
Jacana Media calls for submissions, written in English, for its 2018 Dinaane Debut Fiction Award. Dinaane aims to promote new southern African fiction that speaks to both a local and international audience. It encourages new writers and new readers by publishing material which would likely otherwise not have been selected – for purely commercial reasons – by local publishers of literature. he winner wins R35,000 and gets published by Jacana Media.
This year, the prize is not only open to South Africans but also citizens of all SADC countries. You cannot have had a work of fiction (novel or novella) published prior. Self-published authors may apply, provided that the work was published only online and no physical copies made. Should the work be shortlisted, such online version must be taken down. T
Dinaane Debut Fiction Award guidelines
Entries must be primarily in English but it welcomes a multilingual landscape. Since it’s judged blind, don’t include your name or identifying details in your manuscript. Failure to adhere to this rule will result in automatic disqualification. You can only mark the manuscript with the title of the work.
Submit an electronic copy of your 40,000 words manuscript, a 100-word bio, and author details via the Jacana Media’s website. Scroll all the way down to find the entry form. In addition, send three printed copies of the manuscript to Jacana Media, addressed to:
The Dinaane Debut Fiction Award,
C/O Jacana Media
10 Orange Street
Sunnyside, Auckland Park 2092
Johannesburg South Africa.
Format your manuscript as Times New Roman, size 12, and 1.5 spacing. Avoid unnecessary formatting such as borders. Also, insert page numbers in your transcript. Intertextuality and references must be appropriately attributed and permissions from copyright holders obtained. This includes poems; song lyrics; quotes and excerpts from books, newspapers, magazines, journals; and reproductions of artwork, photographs or other forms.
Jacana Media only accepts manuscript authored by one person. It rejects co-authored pieces or works of collaboration for this award. It does not accept short stories. It will disqualify incomplete entries. Should your manuscript secure a publishing deal before the shortlist is confirmed, please withdraw it immediately. Finally, direct all inquiries to awards@jacana.co.za.