rules of entry for the caine prize

Eligibility criteria:

• The story must have been published in the five years preceding the submissions deadline. For 2024 eligibility, the judges will only consider work published between 1st April 2019 and 14th April 2024.

• Entries must be more than 3,000 words or less than 10,000 words.

• Entries must be submitted by a publisher. This includes publishers of physical and digital books, literary journals, magazines, and arts oriented websites.

• Writers must be over 18 years of age at the time of submission.

• Self-published and unpublished short stories are not eligible.

• Publishers are encouraged to submit multiple short stories as long as they do not submit more than one story by the same author.

• Stories may only be entered for consideration for The Caine Prize for African Writing once. Unfortunately, this means that you may not re-submit a story for consideration, even if it was not selected for the shortlist.

• Genres not eligible for entry include: novels, children’s stories, factual writing, academic essays, plays, poetry, autobiography/biography, and any work that does not constitute a fictional short story.

• Submissions must specify which African country the author comes from and the short story word count.

• Publishers are required to upload a ‘publisher’s letter’ with each submission. See below for more information:

  • What should the publisher’s letter include? 

    Publishers are required to provide:  

    • Name of the writer(s).

    • Title of the story or stories being submitted.

    • Word count of each submitted story.

    • The qualifying nationality of the writer(s).

    •  The date of publication of the story or stories. 

    • Confirmation of consent from the writer(s) whose stories are being submitted for the Prize.

• Each story must be submitted by the publisher via email (submissions@caineprize.com) as a PDF attachment or via a link to the story (if it has been published online).

• Please ensure ‘The Caine Prize for African Writing Entry for 2024’ appears in the subject matter of your email.

Submissions that do not meet the above criterias will not be eligible for the prize. If you have any questions or query regarding our eligibility criteria, please email: info@caineprize.com we will be happy to assist!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Who is an ‘African writer’?

• An ‘African writer’ is taken to mean someone who is a national of an African country, or who has a parent who is African by birth or nationality

How do I apply?

• Each story must be submitted by the publisher via email (submissions@caineprize.com) as a PDF attachment or via a link to the story (if it has been published online)

• Publishers are required to upload a ‘publisher’s letter’ with each submission

• Please ensure ‘The Caine Prize for African Writing Entry for 2024’ appears in the subject matter of your email.

When should I apply?

• Submissions for The Caine Prize for African Writing open on Wednesday, 17th January 2024 (00:01 GMT) and close on Friday, 19th April 2024 (12:00 GMT).

Who can submit stories for the Prize? 

• Entries must be submitted by the publisher or a third-party institution that is independent of the author.

• Publishers of physical and digital literary journals, magazines or literature-oriented websites may submit entries for the Prize.

• Self-published and unpublished works are not eligible for the Prize.

• Short stories submitted by the author(s) will not be eligible for the Prize.

Can I submit unpublished or self-published work?

• Unpublished works are not eligible for the Prize.

• For avoidance of doubt, stories self-published on self-publishing platforms – WattPad, author-me.com, Lulu and Amazon Kindle – are not eligible for the Prize. 

Are works published in online journals eligible?

• The Prize accepts work published by journals in print and online, as well as work published in short-story collections and anthologies. If you have any doubt whether your work is eligible, please send an email to info@caineprize.com, and we will be happy to assist you.

Do you accept e-books or digital versions of entries?

• Yes. We accept digital submissions.

What if my story is not in English?

• Works translated into English from other languages are eligible, provided they have been published in English translation.

• Should such a work win, the prize pot is split between the translator and the original language author along the following lines: 70% of the prize pot to the author, and 30% to the translator.

• Where the original work is by a non-living author the prize pot is split in equal halves between the translator and the author’s estate. 

Does my story have to be fictional?

• Yes. Only fictional short stories are eligible for the Prize.

• Works not eligible for entry include: children’s stories, factual writing, academnic essays, plays, poetry and autobiography/biography.

• Short stores shorter than 3,000 words or longer than 10,000 words are not eligible for the Prize.

How long should my story be?

• Minimum length of each submitted short story is 3,000 and the maximum length is 10,000 words.

Can I submit more than one story?

• Publishers are encouraged to submit multiple short stories as long as they do not submit more than one story by the same author as the judges will only consider one work per writer in any given year.

• On occasions where separate publishers have submitted different stories by the same author, we will contact the writer with an opportunity to choose which story they wish to put forward to the judges.

Can I submit stories by writers who have passed away?

• No. Authors should be alive at the time their stories are submitted for the Prize.

If my story was submitted for a previous Prize but was not selected for the shortlist, can I enter it again?

• Stories may only be entered for consideration in the Caine Prize once. Unfortunately, this means that you may not re-submit a story for consideration, even if it was not selected for the shortlist. You are, of course, encouraged to submit a different story, as long as it meets our eligibility criteria.

Permissions

• The publisher and author agree by submitting an entry to the Prize, that if the story is shortlisted, a non-exclusive, non-commercial permission in perpetuity is given with the consent of the author to reproduce the story in the Caine Prize anthologies in digital, print and audio formats.

Shortlisting and Expectations

• The winner and shortlisted writers will be invited to participate in events in Africa, London and elsewhere should resources and circumstances permit. In these cases, there will be travel award granted to each of the shortlisted candidates.

• By submitting an entry to the Prize, the publisher and author give a non-exclusive, non-commercial permission in perpetuity for the Prize to reproduce the story in the Caine Prize anthology in print, digital and audio formats should the story be shortlisted.

• By consenting to their stories being submitted for the Prize, the shortlisted writers agree to take part in Prize related events, including but not limited to in-person and online panel discussions, interviews, readings, podcast recordings and the final award ceremony. 

The Prize will provide a separate letter detailing terms of agreement to the shortlisted writers.