Evaristo Prize for African Poetry (Up To $1,500)

The Evaristo Prize for African Poetry is an annual prize of USD $1,500 awarded to ten poems written by an African poet.

Established first as the Brunel International African Poetry Prize (BIAPP) in 2012 by British writer Bernardine Evaristo, who founded and managed the prize for ten years, the Evaristo Prize was renamed and passed on to be managed by the African Poetry Book Fund in 2022.

Evaristo Prize for African Poetry: Eligibility Criteria

The Prize is open to African writers. An “African writer” is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, who is a national or resident of an African country, or whose parents are African.

The prize is open to African poets who have not yet had a full-length poetry book published at the time of submission. Self-published poetry books, chapbooks, and pamphlets are exempt from this stipulation.

Only poems written in English can be considered, but we welcome poems in translation for consideration too. In the case that the winning work is translated, a percentage of the prize money would be awarded to the translator.

No past or present paid employees of the University of Nebraska Press, Akashic Books, or Amalion Press, or current faculty, students, or employees at the University of Nebraska are eligible for the prizes.

African poets who have published a chapbook in a New-Generation African Poets Chapbooks Box Set series remain eligible for the Evaristo African Poetry Prize if they have not published a full-length book of poems.

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WHEN TO SEND

Manuscripts of 10 poems, no more and no less, will be accepted annually between October 1^st  and November 1^st via Submittable. Please do not send any submissions via email. We do not have the capacity to track submissions by email and any manuscripts received as such will not be considered.

All entries must be submitted via Submittable

Alterations cannot be made to poems once entered.

Visit Evaristo Prize for African Poetry website to learn more and apply now

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