Monday, December 14, 2009

Bessie Head Literature Awards 2010 Submissions Requested


CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
2010 Bessie Head Literature Awards
(sponsored by Pentagon Publishers)
for
Novel,
Short Story, and
Children’s Story

Bessie Head Heritage Trust and Pentagon Publishers announce prizes in literature,
one prize to be awarded each for novel, short story, and children’s story. Residents and citizens of Botswana are invited to submit manuscripts on any topic in one of the above categories. Categories are defined according to standardliterary characteristics, and are limited to the following lengths:
Novel at least 40,000 words; no upper limit
Short Story 10,000 words/10 pages
Children’s Story 10,000 words/10 pages

All submissions must adhere to the following criteria:
1. All work must be original, unpublished and not submitted to any publisher.
2. All manuscripts must be typed. No handwritten manuscripts will be accepted. You must submit four copies of your work. You must submit by post; no emailed entries will be accepted.
3. No more than one submission (novel, short story, or children’s story) per person. You may submit in only one category.
4. No school assignments will be accepted as submissions.
5. All submissions must include one cover page with the following information: author's name (no pen-names will be accepted), at least two ways the author can be contacted (telephone and
post or email), and a clear statement of the category of the manuscript ("novel", "short
story", or "children’s story"). All submissions must also include one photocopy of Omang,
passport and residence certificate, or other form of identification (this copy need not be
certified). The first page of the manuscript (not the cover page) must also state clearly the
category of the manuscript.
6. All submissions must be written in English, and be thoroughly revised and proofread for grammar and spelling.
7. Except for the cover page, manuscripts must not have the author's name on them. Judges will judge all submissions blindly; that is, they must not be able to identify the author.
Any submissions that do not follow the above criteria will be disqualified.
Authors are advised that they may be asked to authenticate their work, and therefore should not destroy any drafts, including the first one, since winners may be asked to produce them as proof of originality.
Contestants may only win once in each category (once you win, you are barred from entering in the same category again for three years), and contestants must enter their own work (a publisher or friend may not enter your work).
Prizes
Novel P 2,500.00
Short Story P 1,250.00
Children’s Story P 1,250.00

Post — not email — your cover page, copy of identification,
and four copies of your manuscript to
Bessie Head Literature Awards
P.O. Box 70401
Gaborone

Deadline: All entries must be postmarked by 20 March 2010
and received no later than 31 March 2010
Winners to be announced in early June 2010 on website www.bessiehead.org
Prize-giving ceremony details to be announced. Enquiries to bessiehead@gmail.com, or visit the page www.bessiehead.org/awards/FAQ-Lit-Awards.htm.
Bessie Head Heritage Trust members, Pentagon Publisher employees, contest judges, and members of their families are prohibited from entering. Pentagon Publishers reserves the right to publish prize-winning manuscripts and to evaluate the remaining manuscripts for publication. All manuscripts will be deposited with Bessie Head Heritage Trust; however,
Pentagon Publishers acknowledges the substance of the rights of copyright in the manuscript and the lawfulness and validity of the copyright holder's rights and title to the rights of copyright in the manuscript.