Submissions for the Gerald Kraak Prize and Anthology will now be open year-round. The announcement was made by Jacana Literary Foundation (JLF) and The Other Foundation, who administer the Prize. With this new format, the shortlist will now be announced in February 2019 rather than the initial December 2018 schedule. The winner will be announced at a 2019 ceremony hosted by the Other Foundation in Johannesburg. 

Founded in 2016 by the Jacana Literary Foundation and the Other Foundation, in honour of the late activist Gerald Kraak, the R25 000 Gerald Kraak Prize aims to honour writing and photography by Africans that are “multi-layered, brave and stirring,” and that “represent a new wave of fresh storytelling, one that provokes thought on the topics of gender, social justice and sexuality.” Shortlisted works are published in an anthology. The 2016/17 award went to Ugandan-born Kenyan photographer Sarah Waiswa and Kenyan writer Farah Ahamed. Its anthology, Pride and Prejudice, was launched in May 2017. The 2017/18 award went to Nigerian nonfiction writer Pwaangulongii Dauod. Its anthology, As You Like It, was launched in May 2018.

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Entry Rules

The Gerald Kraak Prize considers:

  • Fiction
  • Non-fiction
  • Poetry
  • Photography and all visual arts that aren’t video and electronic
  • Journalism / magazine reporting
  • Scholarly articles in academic journals and book chapters / extracts
  • Social media / blog writings and contributions

The subject matter of the work must relate to gender, human rights and/or sexuality in Africa.

Entries must have been created by a citizen of an African country. Written submissions must be in English.

Up to three entries are permitted per author, across categories. Each entry must be submitted on a separate electronic entry form.

Please number your pages; use a font size of 12, Times New Roman and 1.5 spacing (avoid unnecessary formatting, such as borders).

Materials must not exceed 15,000 words or 8 images.

Images must be 300 dpi high resolution.

Images will be published in an image section on matte art paper and not in the body of the text.

We are looking for work which tells a story or illustrates an idea. If one photograph achieves this, then we welcome the submission of that single image. It is, however, more likely to be accomplished through a collection of photographs or a photographic essay.

We accept unpublished as well as previously published works.

No handwritten or hard copy entries can be considered. Submissions must be made via the online portal.

Entrants’ name should not be included on the manuscript being submitted, as the award is judged blind and the author remains anonymous until the shortlist has been selected.

There is an opportunity to use a pseudonym should one be required.

Intertextuality and references must be appropriately attributed and permissions from copyright holders obtained. This includes poems; song lyrics; quotes and excerpts from books, newspapers, magazines, journals; and reproductions of artwork, photographs or other forms.

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The judges for the 2018/19 Prize are South African writer Sisonke Msimang, author of Always Another Country and The Resurrection of Winnie Mandela; South African journalist Mark Gevisser, author of Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred, which won the 2008 Sunday Times Alan Paton Award for Non-Fiction, and Lost and Found in Johannesburg: A Memoir; Ugandan activist Sylvia Tamale, professor of law at Makerere University and author of African Sexualities: A Reader; and Nigerian writer Otosirieze, deputy editor of Brittle Paper.

Send an email to [email protected] to receive the submission form.

Find out more about the Gerald Kraak Prize HERE.