The Young African Poets Anthology is a project by the Nigerian writers Ernest Ogunyemi and Fiyinfoluwa Timothy Oladipo, for poets between the ages of 15 and 19. It will be guest-edited by Itiola Jones, winner of the 2018 Brittle Paper Award for Poetry, and Nome Patrick Emeka, finalist for the 2018 Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Intending contributors are advised to read the guidelines carefully as submissions that do not follow them will not be read.

  • ONLY African poets or poets who are of African descent and are between the ages of 15 and 19 are eligible to submit
  • An African poet is considered to be someone who was born in Africa, or whose parents, or one of them, are African. The poet does not have to live in the continent to be considered
  • A minimum of two poems and a maximum of four—each not more than ten pages. Each poem should not exceed forty lines, and each must be titled
  • All themes are welcome but we want your very best poems, poems that are well-polished, that sing
  • Only poems written in English will be considered. Translations are, however, welcome, but they must be accompanied by the originals. We will also love to see poems that include other African languages, but the core of the poem must be in English
  • All submissions must be Word documents (doc or docx.) NO PDFs. The document should be in Times New Roman, 12 pt., and single-spaced, and should be emailed, as an attachment, to [email protected]
  • The subject of the email should be “Young African Poets Anthology Submission.” In the body of the email, include a bio of not more than fifty words; the bio should contain the poet’s country of origin and the country where they presently reside
  • There should be no identifying information on the attached document; all information should be in the body of the email
  • Add your email on the last page of your poem
  • Submissions window closes on 30 November 2019
  • There will be an email response 24 hours after a submission has been received
  • All submissions, whether selected or not, will be responded to by late December or early January

ABOUT THE GUEST EDITORS

Itiola Jones is a queer American / Nigerian poet and music journalist. She is the 2018 winner of the Brittle Paper Award for Poetry. I.S. hosts a month-long workshop every April, called “The Singing Bullet.” Her works have appeared or are forthcoming in Guernica, The Rumpus, The Offing, The Shade Journal, and elsewhere. She is an MFA candidate in Poetry at UW-Madison.

Nome Patrick Emeka is a blxck bxy and student in the University of Benin, Nigeria, where he studies English language and literature. He is a recipient of the Festus Iyayi Award for Excellence (Poetry) in 2018. His works have been published or forthcoming in Poet Lore, Puerto Del Sol, Beloit, Notre Dame Review, The McNeese Review (where he received a Best of the Net Nomination), among others. His manuscript, We Need New Moses. Or New Luther King, was a finalist for the 2018 Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets. He lives in a small room close to banana trees and bird songs in Benin.

All queries should be directed to the YAPA Team at [email protected].