Submissions are now open for the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poetry, the annual award given to an African poet who has not yet published a full-length poetry collection. The winner receives $1,000 and publication through the University of Nebraska Press as part of the African Poetry Book Fund.

The prize will be judged by the Sillerman Editorial Team: Kwame Dawes, Chris Abani, Matthew Shenoda, John Keene, Gabeba Baderoon, Phillippa Yaa de Villiers, Aracelis Girmay, and Mahtem Shiferraw. A winner will be announced in June.

Eligibility: The prize is open only to “first book” submissions, meaning writers who have not yet published a book-length poetry collection. This includes self-published books that have been sold online, in stores, or at readings. Writers who have edited and published an anthology or similar collection of other writers’ work remain eligible. An “African writer,” for the purposes of this prize, is someone who was born in Africa, is a national or resident of an African country, or has African parents. Only poetry submissions in English will be considered; translated work is accepted, with a percentage of the prize awarded to the translator. Past or present paid employees of the University of Nebraska Press, Akashic Books, or Amalion Press, and current faculty, students, or employees at Brown University, are not eligible.

Manuscript guidelines: There is no entry fee. Manuscripts should be at least 50 pages long, submitted anonymously with no author name, address, phone number, or email on the manuscript itself, only a cover page listing the title. An acknowledgements page listing individual poems’ publication history may be included if desired, and no application form is required. Writers may submit more than one manuscript. While there are no strict formatting rules, the prize organizers suggest Times New Roman or Arial, 12-point font, single-spaced, with one poem per page.

Manuscripts are accepted annually between September 15 and December 1, and submissions are electronic only, via Submittable.

Interested poets can submit here.