Please, read the submission guidelines carefully.
Submission window: February 1, 2022 – May 15, 2022 [Closed]
Now in its third year, the theme for this year’s edition of the Toyin Falola Prize is Freedom. However, freedom is conceived very broadly, for it means several things and can be several things too. It could be a physical condition, psychological, geopolitical, or even spiritual. Still, at the heart of the lexical item’s several interpretations is a roaming spirit, since to be free is to defy bounds: i.e., to have the capacity to not be pinned down. To what extent is this true or false? We want your story to answer this.
Freedom: To be able to act freely; To be released from captivity or encumbrance; To have a right to self-rule; To have the right to act or speak without hindrance; Absence of something unpleasant; Ease of movement; Right to occupy a place; Honorary citizenship; Frankness; Excessive Confidence; Free will; What does it mean to be free?; Is freedom context and geopolitically based/defined? What are the bounds of freedom?
- We are interested in the several possibilities that can come out of attempting to narratively understand freedom, test its limits, and its bounds. We want to experience what freedom means to several writers, what comes to mind when freedom becomes the subject of discussion, what kind of worlds can be conceived and constructed with freedom in mind. Creative and genre-bending submissions are highly welcomed.
- All genres of stories are encouraged (including those hard to categorize) except erotica and chic-lit.
- Witty language and humour are especially welcomed.
- The narratives can be either factual or fiction, or a mixture of both; however, the genre must be clearly indicated by the entrant, which does not in any way influence/constrain the chances of the submission, as originality, creativity, and delivery are principal criteria.
- The writer should not be below the age of 15 or above 35 at the time of submission.
- There is no limit to the number of words; however, we would prefer submissions within the range of 1,500 – 4,500 words.
- We do not accept more than an entry per writer/submission.
- All entrants must be African, that is, the writer should either be born in Africa or have either of the two parents as African.
- All submissions must be the original work of the entrants, previously unpublished in any form, and not under consideration for publication or prize somewhere else. That means we do not accept translated works or simultaneous submissions. Note: Published means either online in any form or on any platform.
- All submissions should be sent to prize@lunaris.com.ng with the subject TOYIN FALOLA PRIZE SUBMISSION.
- All submissions should be attached as doc. file, named as the title of the submission (without the name of the entrant) and formatted in 1.5 line spacing, Book Antiqua theme font with font size 12. Note: Other file formats would not be considered for the prize.
- Also, the body of the submission email should not contain the bio of the entrant, just the title of the submission, word count, genre, and contact information. Bios of the entrants would be requested upon selection. The file itself should not indicate the name or any identifying detail of the entrant.
- By submitting to the prize, the entrant gives Pan-African University Press the exclusive right (or as determined by PAUP) to edit and publish their works upon selection for the longlist in the ensuing anthology of the prize.
- No member or relative of the Lunaris Review Team and Pan-African University Press would be considered for the Prize.
