The Caine Prize is awarded to a short story by an African writer published in English, whether in Africa or elsewhere. Indicative length is between 3000 and 10,000 words.

“An African writer” is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, or who is a national of an African country, or whose parents are African, and whose work has reflected African sensibilities.

There is a cash prize of £10,000 for the winning author and a travel award for each of the short-listed candidates (up to five in all).

For practical reasons, unpublished work and work in other languages is not eligible. Works translated into English from other languages are not be excluded, provided they have been published in translation, and should such a work win, a proportion of the prize would be awarded to the translator.

ELIGIBILITY

• Unpublished work is not eligible for the Caine Prize.
• Submissions should be made by publishers only.
• Only one story per author will be considered in any one year.
• We require 6 copies of the work in its originally published version.
• If the work is published in a book or journal, we would like to receive at least one copy of the book / journal and five photocopies; but particularly where several stories are submitted from one anthology we would like if possible to receive six copies of the book / journal itself.
• If the work is published online, we would like to receive six photocopies.
• Only fictional work is eligible.

Please note that works which do not conform to the criteria will not be considered for the prize. Please do not waste your own time and postage by sending in material which is unsuitable. Works not eligible for entry include stories for children, factual writing, plays, biography, works shorter than 3000 words and unpublished work. If you are not sure whether your work is eligible, please email us for advice.

HOW TO ENTER

Publishers should post six hard copies of the story for consideration to:

Nick Elam
The Caine Prize for African Writing
The Menier Gallery
Menier Chocolate Factory
51 Southwark Street
London SE1 1RU

Entries should be accompanied by a letter from the publisher conveying a short CV or brief biography of the writer, and specifying which African country the writer comes from.

Further details here.

London Comedy Writers does not endorse any of the competitions or opportunities listed on this site and cannot be held responsible for their administration. We provide these links in good faith. You must make your own judgment and do your own research before entering any competition or partaking in any opportunity. If you have had a bad experience with any of these competitions or events listed on the website, please contact us so it can be removed.