The African Poetry Book Fund, in partnership with Brown University, promotes and advances the development and publication of the poetic arts through its book series, contests, workshops, and seminars and through its collaborations with publishers, festivals, booking agents, colleges, universities, conferences and all other entities that share an interest in the poetic arts of Africa.
We publish between three and five poetry books each year, including the winner of the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets, a chapbook box set of emerging African poets, and our New and Selected series.
Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry
The Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry is a post-publication award of US $1,000 to a book of poetry published by an African author.
An African writer is someone who was born in Africa, who is a national or resident of an African country, or whose parents are African.
We do not accept submissions electronically. Please visit our website for more information on how to submit.
Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets
The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets awards USD $1,000 and publication by the University of Nebraska Press.
We accept electronic submissions of full-length manuscripts of poetry to the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets annually between September 15 and December 1.
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.
No past or present paid employees of the University of Nebraska Press or Amalion Press, or current faculty, students, or employees at the University of Nebraska or Brown University, are eligible for the prizes.
No entry fee is required to submit to the contest.
Evaristo African Poetry Prize (formerly the Brunel International African Poetry Prize)
The Evaristo African Poetry Prize awards USD $1,500 to ten poems.
We accept electronic submissions to the Evaristo African Poetry Prize annually between October 1 and November 1.
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.
No past or present paid employees of the University of Nebraska Press or Amalion Press, or current faculty, students, or employees at the University of Nebraska or Brown University, are eligible for the prizes.
No entry fee is required to submit to the contest.
General Submissions
We accept electronic unsolicited full-length poetry manuscript submissions from published and unpublished African poets during our open submissions periods. For submission guidelines, please visit: https://africanpoetrybf.unl.edu/publish-with-apbf/
To keep track of APBF calls for manuscript submission, please sign up for our newsletter here: https://bit.ly/35k9BNo
The APBF is a small nonprofit organization run almost entirely by volunteers and funded by individual donations and grants. This allows us to focus on our unique vision to publish and promote African poetry. To maintain the accessibility of our prizes and submission periods to poets across the globe, the APBF does not charge reading fees. All these things mean that we rely on the generosity of our community—every donation supports African poets and makes our work possible.
Donations to the APBF support a range of visionary projects, including poetry prizes, publications, local poetry libraries, and more.
Recurring gifts help us sustain the long-term continuity of our projects and ensure we can keep celebrating the transformative global voices that speak to you. If you would like to make a recurring gift, please visit this link.
Thank you for your support!