Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets is taking submissions through December 1:

The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poetry is an annual prize that’s awarded to an African poet who has not yet published a first collection of poetry. The winner receives $1000, and their book is co-published by the University of Nebraska Press and Amalion Press in Senegal.

The judges are made up of the African Poetry Book Fund Editorial Board, which includes Kwame Dawes, Chris Abani, Matthew Shenoda, John Keene, Gabeba Baderoon, Phillippaa yaa de Villiers, Aracelis Girmay, and Bernardine Evaristo.

A winner is set to be announced in early January.

Only poetry submissions in English will be considered. However, translated works are accepted, with a percentage of the prize awarded to the translator.

There is no entry fee required, and manuscripts should be at least 50 pages long. Previous winners include Sudanese poet Safia Elhillo’s The January Children and Somali-American poet Ladan Osman’s The Kitchen-Dweller’s Testimony.

For more details on the Sillerman First Book Prize for African poets, visit their website or email psbookprize@unl.edu.

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