The Island Prize for a Debut Novel from Africa

The Island Prize for a Debut Novel from Africa

Longlist
From the submitted entries, no more than EIGHT authors will be longlisted and invited to submit their full manuscripts.

These manuscripts must be complete and ready to submit. We will not wait for authors to finish manuscripts.

Longlisted authors will be invited to join ajoint Zoom meeting in which general feedback and advice will be given.

Shortlist
From the longlist, a shortlist of THREE will be chosen.

Runners-up
The two runners-up will each receive £200 and will be given an individual Zoom session with detailed feedback.

We will also work closely with them to help them in creating a submission package, giving advice about where to submit to.

Winner
The winner receives £500. The Island Prize is not about money, but rather about assisting the winner in navigating the difficult world of the publishing industry. We will work with thewinner on their manuscript, helping them to get it to a point where we can assist them in approaching agents and publishers.

While we will do our best to help where and how we can, unfortunately the publishing industry is not predictable, and we are therefore unable to guarantee that the winner will be published.

Eligibility

The Island Prize is open to African writers aged 18 and over, regardless of place of residence.
For the purposes of the competition, we define “African writers” as writers born in or having citizenship of any African country.
1. You must not be represented by a literary agent or currently under contract with a publisher. If you receive an offer of representation while your novel is under consideration, you must inform us immediately and withdraw.
2. Non-fiction, poetry, and short story collections, as well as fiction for children are NOT eligible.
3. There is no restriction as to specific genre – anything from literary fiction to crime thriller is welcome.
4. The complete novel should be between 35,000 words and 100,000 words.
5. Entrants must not have previously published a novel; this includes self-published or eBook-only editions. To clarify: authors may have previously published poetry collections, short story collections, and non-fiction, BUT NOT A NOVEL.
6. Authors who are longlisted may be required to give evidence of their eligibility. Personal information will be kept confidential.
7. Pseudonyms may be used, but longlisted authors will be asked to provide their given names. This will be kept confidential.
8. Submissions open on 1 January 2025 and close at midnight CAT on 16 February 2025.
9. Authors with manuscripts that we would like to see in full will be contacted by 31 March 2025 – though this date might have to be extended slightly, depending on the volume of entries received. Authors must be ready to submit the full manuscript to us within a couple of days of being contacted. We WILL NOT wait for authors to complete unfinished manuscripts, and their names will be removed from the longlist.
10. The shortlisted authors will be announced in the first week of May 2025.
11. The winner will be announced sometime in mid-May 2025.