Wednesday, December 22, 2010

2011 Bessie Head Literature Awards

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
2011 Bessie Head Literature Awards
(Sponsored by Pentagon Publishers)
for
Novel, Short Story, Poetry

The Bessie Head Heritage Trust and Pentagon Publishers are proud to announce prizes in
literature for 2011: three prizes to be awarded each for novel, short story, and poetry.
Residents and citizens of Botswana are invited to submit manuscripts on any theme in one of
the above categories. Categories, prizes, and permitted lengths are as follows:

Novel (more than 40,000 words) :
1st prize: P2500 2nd Prize: P1500 3rd Prize: P1200



Short story (up to 10,000 words / 10 pages) :
1st Prize: P1200 2nd Prize: P900 3rd Prize: P800



Poetry (a set of one to three poems):
1st Prize: P800 2nd Prize: P600 3rd Prize: P500



Your submission must adhere to the following criteria:
1. Your work must be original, unpublished and not submitted to any publisher.
2. Your manuscript must be in English and be thoroughly revised and proofread.
3. Your manuscript must be typed or printed. Handwritten entries are not accepted.
4. You must submit four copies of your work by post. Photocopies are fine.
5. Do not send more than one manuscript (novel, short story, or poetry). You may
submit exactly one entry per year of the contest.
6. Do not submit a school assignment; school projects are not accepted.
7. Your submission must include a cover page with the following information: (a) your
real name (no pen names are accepted), (b) your postal or email address, (c) one or
two phone numbers for contacting you, (d) a title for your work, and (e) a clear
statement of the category of the work (“novel”, “short story”, or “poetry”).
The first page of the manuscript itself – not the cover page – must also clearly state
the category and the title.
8. Your entry must be accompanied by one photocopy of your Omang or your passport
and residence certificate (these photocopies need not be certified).
9. Except for the cover page, your entry must not have your name on it. Judges will
judge all manuscripts blindly; i.e. they must not be able to identify the authors.
10. You must enter your work yourself (a publisher or friend may not submit it for you).
11. Deadline: Entries must be postmarked by 21 March 2011 and received by 31 March.
Any submissions that do not adhere to the above criteria will be disqualified.
Winning authors may be asked to produce proof of originality, and thus you should not
destroy any drafts, including the first one, until the results have been confirmed.


Send your cover page, copy of identification, and four copies of your manuscript to
Bessie Head Literature Awards
P.O. Box 70401
Gaborone

Winners to be announced in mid-June 2011 on the website www.bessiehead.org.

For more information go HERE.

Pentagon Publishers reserves the right to publish prize-winning manuscripts and to evaluate
all manuscripts for publication. Please send all other queries to bessiehead@gmail.com.

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