Accord Literary will be hosting a 10-day celebration of literature for young readers in Accra, Ghana in May 2023. Accra will be the UNESCO World Book Capital for 2023, so the retreat will be held at a good time!

Accord Literary is working with Writers Project Ghana, LOATAD, Ghana Publishers Association, Brand Africa and The Rock Retreat to organize the retreat. The retreat will be facilitated by storytelling veterans such as published authors and illustrators alongside professionals from the publishing industry.

Accord Literary is a Ghana-based literary agency that aims to mentor, develop and encourage writers based in Africa writing books for young readers. The retreat will immerse participants in a diverse range of children’s literature from picture books for young children to YA fiction. It is an excellent opportunity for authors and illustrators to strengthen their work, tell more compelling stories, connect with peers, and get closer to the goal of getting published.

The goal of the retreat is to help participants learn and practice creative writing skills such as applying new storytelling perspectives, recognizing issues and themes relevant to young people’s lives, developing character, narrative, setting, voice, dialogue and other narrative fundamentals, incorporating the unique experiences of individual authors and illustrators in stories, using art to carry a narrative, and experimenting with new art styles.

See the submission criteria below:

  • Submit your bio and first 1000 words of a work in progress or three illustrations saved as jpegs.
  • Please save your work using the file name: Accraretreat/YOURNAME
  • Please use the email subject: ACCRA CREATIVE RETREAT, and send your submission to [email protected].
  • Artists can send their illustrations to WhatsApp (+263 712 211 632). Include your name and contact details.

The cost of attending the retreat is £2000 which includes hotel, meals, local transport and excursions. The cost does not include your flight or visa costs. Accord Literary is offering fully sponsored places to creators from sub- Saharan Africa. If you are interested in one of the sponsored places, please follow the submission criteria and include details of why you would like to attend the creative retreat.

Deadline for Submission: December 1, 2022

Applicants will be notified about their applications by January 29, 2023.

Go here for more details.