Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets 2022 /How to Submit ($1,000 + Publication)

The 2022 edition of the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets is currently open for submissions. This annual award is for African Poets who have not yet published a collection of poetry.

Prizes:

The winner of the 2022 edition of the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets is given USD $1,000 and publication with University of Nebraska Press

Eligibility for the 2022 edition of the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets

• Must be an African poet
• Unpublished poets
• Students or employees at the University of Nebraska

No entry fee is required to submit to the contest.

You’re Ineligible to Enter For This Award: If You Fall Into Any Of These Categories:

• Past or present paid employees of the University of Nebraska Press or Amalion Press, or current faculty
• Published poets of book length poetry collection
• Self published poets that have sold their books online, in stores or at readings

Deadline for the contest:

December 1, 2022

Submission Guidelines for the 2022 Edition Of The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets

• Poetry manuscripts should be at least 50 pages long
• Author’s name should not appear anywhere on the manuscript as all entries will be read anonymously
• A cover page with only the title of the manuscript should be included and an acknowledgement page listing the publication history of individual poems may be included.
• Eligible writers can submit more than one manuscript
• According to the press release: 

An acknowledgements page listing the publication history of individual poems may be included, if desired.

This means that you can add previously published poems to your manuscript.

Manuscript Formatting Guidelines You should Use:

• Times New Roman or Arial
• 12 point font
• Single spaced
• One poem per page

To submit, upload your submission of the ABBF Submissions Page

Judges for the contest:

The African Poetry Book Fund Editorial Board includes;

• Kwame Dawes
• Chris Abani
• Gabeba Baderoon
• Philippa yaa de Villers
• Bernedine Evaristo
• Aracelis Girmay
• John Keene, and
• Matthew Shenoda

For more details on or if you want to know more about other publishing or literary activities like the unsolicited poetry submission from both published or unpublished writers, you can visit their website or email psbookprize@unl.edu

For poetry writing tips, click here

Good Luck!