Submissions are now open for the second issue of Márọkọ, the Lagos International Poetry Festival’s annual print and digital journal.

The theme is “Here and Now” and explores the post-pandemic pandemic global apprehension and narratives of change, adaptation, and survival. Márọkọ invites submissions of poems, essays, and photography that reflect, protest, investigate, and articulate the personal impacts of these transformations in post-pandemic life.

Named after the migrant community east of the Lagos Lagoon who were violently evicted in the early 90s to make way for a real estate strip, Márọkọ́ draws its ethos from the unbowed spirits that confront the reckless possibilities of Lagos. It connects pan-African and pan-diasporic experiences, in poetry, prose, visual art, and photography, tracing a contemporary canon across the contours of contemporary black urban life.

This issue is produced in partnership with the British Council’s International Collaboration programme. Alongside accepted submissions, the issue will also feature poems and essays from 6 resident poets and writers participating in the transatlantic residency in Scotland and Ghana.

Submission Guidelines:

  • Submissions must be original, previously unpublished work.
  • Multiple genres are accepted including poetry, reviews, profiles, personal essays, and visual art/photography.
  • Submissions should be formatted in 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and in Word doc.
  • Include a short bio of no more than 150 words with each submission.
  • The email subject line should include the genre of the piece
  • For full submission details, including specifics for each genre, go here.

There is no submission fee required. Márọkọ will offer payment for selected submissions. The journal will be launched on October 29, 2023 at the Lagos International Poetry Festival.

Deadline: August 21, 2023

Submit to [email protected].