BLACK CRAKE BOOKS OPENS DOORS TO BOTSWANA WRITERS

CALLING ALL AUTHORS...In celebration of Botswana's 50th Anniversary of Independence, Black Crake Books launched #50@50, a campaign to publish 50 of Botswana's best books. Listen to the video from Mr Nick Green of Black Crake Books, and start writing.

BUILDING PEACE IN OUR HEARTS AND MINDS AND HOW IT RELATES TO THE WORLD

BUILDING PEACE IN OUR HEARTS AND MINDS AND HOW IT RELATES TO THE WORLD

Just above 2000 years ago, a Jewish Rabbi by the name Jesus Christ, who we Christians hold in high esteem as our Savior, stated: I give you peace, peace not as the world gives you, but peace that radiates from inside and impacts on the world. The world since time immemorial has sought peace, but that goal has remained elusive because the world has sought to create peace using instruments external to the human heart. Examples are weapons of war, diplomatic negotiations and several other strategies found in the politician’s arsenal. Whilst all of these strategies are noble, they miss the most important way of building peace in the world. That is, building peace first in the hearts and minds of humanity. This is the kind of peace that Jesus Christ, and indeed many of leaders of the great religions of the world, taught about. This is the kind of peace that UNESCO seeks to build in the world. In the following paragraphs shall be answered two main the questions: what it means to build peace in our hearts and minds; and how that peace building process impacts on the world.

But what is peace? It has been eloquently stated by Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. that peace is not just the absence of war. Indeed, peace is a state of physical, social, economic and psychological well-being. It is a state of good neighborliness that respects the common brotherhood and sisterhood of humanity. It is born out of love of self and love for others. It emanates from tolerance of diversity. It comes out of respect of human rights such as freedom of choice, freedom of worship, freedom of expression, freedom of association and many other such.

What then does it mean to build peace in our hearts and minds? Many belief systems are agreed that the terms heart and mind refer to our inner soul, our inner self, our thought processes, our feelings, emotions and perceptions of ourselves and the world around us. Peace-building must certainly begin in the deepest recesses of our hearts and minds. What we believe about ourselves, our God or gods, others and the world around us has an enormous impact on the world’s peace and peace building processes.

An example can be cited from my country, Botswana, and African in general. We are a diverse country and continent, in terms of ethnicity, race and religion. Due to failure many times to accept our common brotherhood and sisterhood, we have found ourselves upsetting or frustrating the peace of the continent. Our failure to accept each other’s diversity, belief systems, thought patterns and perceptions of the world has many times led to conflict. This arises from deep within our hearts. If we cannot accept ourselves for who and what we are, and accept others for who and what they are, we begin to magnify our differences, which usually leads to conflict.

Love for ourselves and love for our neighbors, that famous dictum preached by almost all of the world’s great religions, is the means to building peace in our hearts and in the world. If I love my neighbor as I love myself, I will not seek to hurt my neighbor. Where we have disagreements I will build bridges and mend fences. In my family, love is an important part of our life. It keeps bonds of family strong, and helps us keep the peace. Similarly, in a world in which love rules, peace prevails.

Building peace in our hearts and minds must therefore mean building love in us. Love softens human hearts, leads to forgiveness and fosters acceptance of diversity and respect for human rights. As many of the world’s belief systems affirm, love in our hearts can be built through educating our minds. Education builds better communities, richer cultures, and through advancing science, brings economic, social, cultural and psychological well-being to the world. Building peace in the world must therefore begin with building peace in our hearts and minds.

Peace is more than the absence of war. It is a state of complete human well-being. If the world is to realize peace, if first has to build it in our hearts and minds. That can only be accomplished through nurturing love in our hearts, which can only be accomplished through educating our minds.

Written by:Lisa Bokani Motsu

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

for the 4th AWT Editorial and Publishing Training Workshop

Kampala, Uganda, 12 - 16 September, 2016.

__________________________________________________________________________________

African Writers Trust (AWT) is pleased to announce its 4th edition of the Editorial and Publishing Training Workshop.

Applications are invited from writers and editors from Uganda, Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The workshop, which will be facilitated by experienced professionals in the publishing industry aims to:

• Hone and develop the participants’ editing and writing skills
• Contribute towards developing the careers of African writers and editors who wish to pursue a future in the publishing industry
• Bring together writers and editors as part of AWT’s wider mission to build and sustain a network of African writers.

AWT will cater for all successful applicants’ travel expenses, accommodation and meals for the duration of the workshop.

Participants will be expected to pay a registration fee of USD 50 and are required to bring along written material (fiction or non-fiction) to work on during the training.

Application Guidelines

If you want to be considered for the workshop please send your application with the email subject, Application for 4th AWT Editorial & Publishing Training Workshop, to info@africanwriterstrust.org

The application should include the following:

1. Your name, nationality and gender
2. Your contact  address (email and telephone )
3. A brief bio of not more than  200 words
4. A Letter of Motivation (not more than 500 words)  stating:

• In what capacity you are applying (writer or editor)
• How you believe this workshop will benefit you and your writing/editing career
• How you believe your participation would be beneficial to the publishing industry in your country

5. A sample (1,000 words) of the writing you plan to bring along to the training
6. All successful applicants will be expected to be fully present for the entire duration of the workshop.  

The deadline for receiving applications is Sunday 10th July, 2016. Applications received after this date will not be considered. Successful applicants only will be notified by Sunday the 31st of July 2016.

For more information or queries please contact: African Writers Trust at: info@africanwriterstrust.org

2015 BESSIE HEAD SHORT STORY WRITING COMPETITION

2015 BESSIE HEAD SHORT STORY WRITING

WABO invites aspiring writers  to participate in this year's Bessie Head writing competitions. Below are the guidelines as stipulated by the competition organisers.

Requirements for Submission
Bessie Head Short Story Awards
2015

This year, the Bessie Head Heritage Trust is offering a short story competition. No novels, poems, or children's stories will be accepted. All stories must be submitted online tobessiehead@gmail.com. Note that this form of submission is new. We will not accept hard copies this year. All submissions must adhere to the following guidelines. Those submissions that do not will be automatically disqualified.

1. All work must be original and unpublished. All work must be in English and have been thoroughly revised and proofread for grammar and spelling.
2. Only one entry per person.
3. No school assignments will be accepted.
4. All submissions must include a cover page with name (no pen names will be accepted), two reliable ways of contacting you (email, postal address, telephone number, cell number), the title of the story, and an accurate word count. The word limit is 5,000 words.
5. The first page of the story must also include the title of the story.
6. The rest of the submission must not contain any identifying information. Except for the cover page, all submissions must be anonymous.
7. Use a single, clear font, 12 point size. The best font to use is Times New Roman.
8. Use clear black text on a white background.
9. Left-justify your paragraphs. Right margins should be "ragged".
10. Use double spacing for all your text.
11. Don't insert extra lines between your paragraphs.
12. Indent the first line of each paragraph by about 1/2 inch (1 cm.),
13. Put the word "End" at the end of your story , centred on its own line.
14. Authors are advised that they may be asked to authenticate their work. Do not destroy any drafts, as you may be required to produce them as proof of originality.
15. All submissions must be attached to an email as Word documents (.doc or .docx).
16. Email your submission by 15 September 2015 to bessiehead@gmail.com. All submissions will be acknowledged. No late entries will be accepted.
17. This competition is open to citizens and residents of Botswana. Winners may be asked to verify their identity and eligibility.

DEADLINE: 15 September 2015   Winners are barred for three years from submitting manuscripts again in the same category, though they may enter other categories. Bessie Head Heritage Trust members, The Trust acknowledges the rights of copyright in the manuscript and the lawfulness of the copyright holder's rights and title to the rights of copyright in the manuscript.

YOUR MASTERY WILL UNFOLD BY DONNIE GREENE-SMITH

Your mastery will unfold when you have developed the ability to recognize that there will always be something that you have to go through, and you use every bit of that going through, to polish the master within.

However, what many people do unknowingly is they take time away from their dreams and ambitions and work on the problem they have, because they feel that problem keeps getting in the way, so they prioritize it. So instead of being guided to live from the spirit within, they take direction from the current circumstances. And believe me I have done this so many times till that it actually started to create more things for me ‘to go through’ taking me further and further away from concentrating on me.

It took me a little while to recognize these forks in the road that led me back to guess what, my problem and a whole bunch more waiting to have their say.

These forks have names like:

I don’t have the time
I don’t have the support
I don’t have the money
People don’t really like me
I don’t have the energy
I have tried and tried

Now I know these sound more like reasons instead of forks in the road but that is just it; the person that has learned to master success in what they hope to achieve sees those reasons as forks that will take them away from what they intend to have, so they use that opportunity to find the new awareness that allow them to keep moving forward.

Ask any successful entrepreneur and they will tell you that when challenges come they don’t dial down the dream because of setbacks or disappointing results. No! Instead they learn to dial-up the passion and awareness to help them create what it is they are looking for and so much more.

They change the way they see things and so the things they see begin to change. You’ve done this yourself many of times but you are mostly unaware of it. Just think for a moment about a challenge you may have had 15 years ago. Now when you look at that challenge today it will appear different, you may even laugh at yourself for having thought of it as a challenge. You will have most likely credited that different outlook to getting older instead of gaining a new awareness, but it still is a new awareness.

That is what every challenge presents to you, an opportunity to find a new awareness; and having a great vision or business idea is not going to unfold without you learning to develop your mastery, through those challenges.

Those challenges are calling forth the greatness in you. So when you see those forks again you can then recognize them saying…

It’s saying learn to schedule time for what is really important to your purpose.
It’s saying learn to recognize the support for all your needs as you journey through life.
It’s saying you are not quite convinced yet of your dream, which is why you have laid the blame on not having money.
It's saying love yourself enough to allow yourself to shine no matter what people think.
It’s saying free up some of that time you spend on dead things and focus on the higher calling in you.
It’s saying don’t concentrate on how many times you tried and failed, concentrate on what you want to achieve, nothing else matters.

Rise A Master!

Sincerely,

Donniece Greene-Smith
Co-Founder of Lid Raisers

A Torrential Storm by Wada Goitsemang

Here is the second story from the Mahube submissions on the theme of "water". This is from our WABO member, Wada Goitsemang.

A Torrential Storm

I look out the window, it’s raining. It has been raining for three days now. They have grown tired of the falling rain and so have I. They murmur with sad toned voices, ''It’s bad, it’s bad.''

When I was a child, I loved the rain. It settled the dust, each falling drop brought down dust in one heavy pounce. I remember running into the rain and spreading my arms out with a freedom only childhood innocence and imagination could allow. I remember wondering where rain came from, and if the earth could ever be soaked up with rain the way a sponge gets soaked sometimes. I brushed the thought away the moment I saw rain butterflies. I would run after them and sing,''Rain rain, butterfly.'' I loved the freedom they seemed to possess.

That was then. My joy has been washed down by the rain. I am no longer who I used to be. We sit opposite each other. A foreboding silence killing every attempt to spark conversation. Our last 'discussion' was about rain. Whose god had allowed the rain to fall? My people had been in church petitioning, fasting, praying for the rain. His people had gone to the mountains, they had danced to the god of water. Who had more power?

Our son, lying in bed, sick with a high fever was dying. The new doctor, whom they said knew everything, said nothing could be done. They said that when he said so it was best to prepare for the funeral. I told them, God was smarter than him, he would not allow my son to die, he could not.

The basin of water that was prayed for by the priest would heal my son. It had to. The bottle of anointed water had to. My husband said, his father's gods were angry. We had to perform the ritual of cleansing. Our son should be taken by the riverside at night to be cleansed in the waters. I could not say a word to him, did he want to kill our son?

I could not understand how in the world we got here. Once, two years ago, water had united us. He had washed my hands and I, his; a symbol of how we would always take care of each other. We had been blessed with a son. Now it seemed I was washing my own hands, him his. He had fathered a son. I had mothered a son. Rain had poured to bless the union, rain now poured to mock it. Was this torrential storm ever going to have a rainbow at the end? We needed to be saved from the flood.
______________________________________

Bio: Wada Goitsemang is a 24 year female currently pursuing a science based medical course but whose first love is the arts. She writes poetry and short stories in her spare time. Her work has a tinge of rural Botswana since she was raised in a rural place and later moved to the city in pursuit of her degree. Her background enables her to bring a rich cultural background to her work which allows her to relate to Batswana in both rural and urban places. Her work also reflects the religious influences that have impacted on her. She was originally raised in an African traditional religious family, to seeing her family embrace Christianity and having schooled in a Catholic school at the prime of her youth led to the consolidation of her moral and religious values.

Brand Botswana to be at AGM!!

Brand Botswana will be at our AGM this Saturday to talk to writers about opportunities that are available for Batswana writers to be part of the 'Our Pride, Your Destination". Do not miss out on this chance to find out more about Brand Botswana's vision for the literary arts.

Remember the AGM is this Saturday at 2 pm in Gaborone at Maruapula School.

WABO AGM- Let's All Attend!!

Clear your schedule for Saturday the 19th of May. WABO will be holding their annual general meeting in Gaborone at Maruapula School at 2 pm. Everyone is invited. Besides going through reports for the past executive committee, a new executive will be voted in. It's important we have good attendance. Any questions contact: botswanawriters@gmail.com.

See you there!!!

Window Pains by Boleng J. Bolokwe

(As promised, some of our members who submitted for Mahube have agreed to have their work showcased on our blog. Here is our first short story)

Window Pains

This is what a bar should be: murmuring clinks and loud smoke signalling passers-by to join the hush and get out of the rain. The piano music meandered through the sound of pitter-patter and people. In the inescapable lull of old friends, lovers differed and delivered dreams and breaking hearts, gazes collide.

They said, “As far as lovers go, I am cocaine. You will need me. And I will break you. Tasting of desire, as do you. But I have mastered my highs – the itch barely recognisable. And you have barely scratched the surface. Sleep if you will, for I am the boogieman of your most desired nightmares. A dark dream as deep as the bone, warm as the flesh and steadfast as touch – feel me.”

She heard him well. Katherine Mokotedi watched the corner of this mysterious mouth rise to form a lazy half-smile. Thunder boomed. The crashing skies continued to drum as she swept back her hair, cascading her golden brown braids over the fawn fall of her shoulders as she undid the ribbon that held her do in place. Her cheeks reddened through mocha skin as she caught sight of the cerise lace peeking through her soaked grey tee. The stains, old and new, were barely seen under the quenched cotton. Her embarrassment didn’t keep her from admiring the striped black and crimson cups holding her breasts. She had cut the sleeves of the top and neatly tucked the hem in above the pockets of her washed out charcoal jeans. The white greyed and black receded, a sign of age. Her black pumps looked new, pristine in their gleam.

Her features, youthful and almost childlike, belied a sensuality that smouldered as she rolled her shoulders against the gaping door’s breeze. She heaved deeply, twice, catching the scents of carbonara and coffee, and raised the t-shirt that clung to her chest with each breath. Her figure could not help but draw murmurs. She adjusted the sling of her bag so her folded arms could cover her chest if only for a moment.

She held no regrets for visiting the restaurant on this rainy day. It broke the spell of monotony that surrounded her routine. The fans twirled lazily overhead, as the burnt orange walls warmed the room to its Casablancan character. An informed smile of tile, spread sophisticatedly across the tables, made the mosaic of her entrance complete.

“Welcome to Café 41,” greeted her waiter. His composed air brought her back from the stranger’s eyes and she turned her back on him and faced the waiter. Finally able to deal with her situation, she asked to be shown to the restroom. Her hands, absorbed in their acrobatics with her lighter, were lightly bandaged. Their delicate movements changed as her nose distinguished the dishes wafting from his crisp cotton shirt.

She faced the milling crowd, careful to avoid another ocular altercation with the handsome stranger in the smoker’s section. He seemed to have other plans.

“Excuse me,” he called after Katherine. He spotted the slowly spilling contents of her bag. His hand flashed forward, thumping firm buttocks as he kept a pair of blown glass bookends from meeting their doom. His smile persisted as his eyes closed in disbelief and his head shook as he muttered, “Sorry... But it was glass or ass.”
She couldn’t help but chuckle lightly and the surrounding staff and patrons chorused in. Kate removed her satchel from her shoulder and placed it in front of this new face. Catching the name of her waiter off his name tag she asked, “Leroy, don’t you think that someone who’s already familiar with my fanny…”

“Excuse me. But who says fanny?” Boyish charm added to his appeal. He still wore the same lazy smile that met her at the door. He motioned for her to sit next to him.

“I do.” She was an easy going girl, but could barely believe how easy he made approaching him.

“Tell me your name.”

The throb and thump of traffic and trickling rain were loud enough to muffle any further conversation to any onlooker. In fact, each table was dressed in intimate conversation, scantily clad in strangers’ sights. The curtain of rain lazily separated the street and the eatery. He looked to his right.

She began to be troubled by the fact that there were so many supposed adults here in their suits, twiddling the keys to their toys. But she wanted to be somewhere new. The group that troubled her particularly was the group of four executive-looking black men to her left. Voyeurism, thinly veiled in vulgarity, is often a trait shared by modern African men. Plenty, if not all, joined in the ogling overtures. Against the grain of femininity, she expressed her dislike of the display by men her father’s age. She had come here for the food not to be a meat puppet.

She gave them a withering look which was responded to by in-seat shuffling and the man-child chatter of her being ‘not that pretty’.

“My name is Bill,” he said as he undid the three remaining buttons revealing his red v-neck tee and the buckle securing his stonewashed skinny jeans, he stood and draped the warm black cardigan around Kate’s shoulders. “And as long as we’re here, would you tell me your name. And maybe have some coffee?”

The smokers’ section sheltered the two beneath whispering clouds and striking stillness. In rain strewn streaks, they gravitated towards the inevitable. They were a window, clearing as each moment passed.

--------------------------

Boleng Julius Bolokwe, born October 12th 1991, is a writer inspired by human interaction. His early childhood in Francistown and Gaborone was usually spent neck-deep in books or skipping math lessons to play with his friends. A storyteller by nature, he loves to relay a good yarn to those around him. Most of his teen years were spent in Pretoria where he began to take charge of the emotions building up inside of him. He is oddly mild-mannered and yet, peppered with moments of intensity. And if asked, his biggest fear is a life unlived.

Update on Mahube

The WABO Executive Committee put out calls for submissions of short story, poetry and creative nonfiction around the theme of water for the next issue of Mahube.

Unfortunately we only received submissions from four writers. As such we've made the decision not to publish a print edition of Mahube. Instead we've given the writers who submitted the option of having their work published on this blog. Some have taken us up on this option. In the coming weeks be on the lookout for a new page on this blog highlighting some of our members' writing.

KWANI? Manuscript Project

Batswana writers, do you have an unpublished novel? This is a fantastic opportunity. Kenyan literary magazine, Kwani?, is running a contest for novels for African writers. There are cash prizes for the winners and the chance of publication. This is a one off chance, don't let it pass you by!

(From Kwani? website) "Beyond the foundations laid by Soyinka, Ngugi and Mahfouz, in remembrance of Yambo Ouologuen's pre-colonial quest and Mariam Ba's bending of form, to the urban journeys of Meja Mwangi, the precocious post-everything of Kojo Laing and the musical rhythms of Ahmadou Khrouma. This prize seeks to recognize the possibilities of form in an ongoing genre that has re-emerged in the work of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Alain Mabanckou, The Kwani? Manuscript Project is a conversation, an ill guised attempt at growing its own list. For there is no greater celebration of emergent forms than in publishing our own, thanks to those who have existed before us and helped us believe. We look forward to your submissions

The top 3 manuscripts will be awarded cash prizes:
1st Prize: 300,000 KShs
2nd Prize: 150,000 KShs
3rd Prize: 75,000 KShs

In addition Kwani? will publish manuscripts from across the shortlist and longlist, including the three winning manuscripts, as well as partnering with regional and global agents and publishing houses to create high profile international publication opportunities.

Winners will be announced in December 2012 at the Kwani? Litfest."

For guidelines for submission go HERE.

Our New Literary Magazineis Up Online!

The Kalahari Review, operating out of Gaborone, is now up online.
They are accepting submissions. Go here to see guidelines.

We wish them all the best and hope that writers in Botswana will send in high quality submissions so as to showcase the work we are doing here.

Workshop for Women Writers in Uganda

Call for Submissions for the 4th FEMRITE Regional Women Writers’ Residence November 2012

Uganda Women Writers Association (FEMRITE) calls for submissions for her 4th Regional Women Writers Residence to be held in November 2012. This is an inspiring initiative that brings together upcoming African women writers. The main objectives of the residency are:

• To bring established writers to mentor upcoming African women writers
• To give upcoming Ugandan women writers the opportunity to interact with women writers from the continent
• To give African women writers conducive space and time pursue their writing projects
• To create opportunities for inter-cultural discourse among women writers
• To strengthen collaboration among women writers’ initiatives in Africa
• To generate short stories for publication in an anthology

At the end of the residence, we expect the writers to have:
• had mentoring sessions with an established writer
• improved at least one of their writing projects
• enriched each other’s manuscripts through discussion
• submitted their improved short story for the residency anthology

How to apply
Interested women are required to submit;
• Part of a novel / short Story collection in WORD document (40 pages, typed in Times New Roman, font 12, 1.5 spacing).
• A short story for publication in the residency anthology
• A brief bio (not more than 10 lines)

This call is open to African women living on the continent. Writers already attached to writers groups in their countries are encouraged to apply.


Deadline for submissions is 30th April 2012


Please Note:
1. All applicants will receive notification by email once their manuscripts are received.
2. The Residency targets 15 writers
3. The Residency will last two weeks in November 2012
4. Successful applicants will be notified by 30th August 2012.
5. Successful published applicants will be kindly requested to donate copies of their works to the FEMRITE Resource Centre
6. Applicants should not have published more than one book.
7. FEMRITE will solicit support to meet costs of travel, accommodation, & meals.

For inquiries and submissions, please email info@femriteug.org

Kalahari Review Looking For Submissions

The Kalahari Review is interested in material exploring Africa and Africans in unique and avant-garde ways. We are looking for stories that have not often been told but should be – through voices that have not yet been heard - but should.

We hope to push the limits and expose the world to aspects of Africa not often shown - both the positives and the negatives.

We are also interested in pieces about and from Africans living abroad as well.

Because this is a web-based publication there are no word count restrictions.

Compensation will be paid on publication.

Thank you for being a part of this project and good luck.

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All submissions should be emailed to: editor@kalaharireview.com

Fiction, Poetry, Essays, and Humor pieces: Should be sent as a PDF or WORD attachment and should be accompanied by a proper query letter. Please include your contact details including full name, postal address, e-mail and telephone number in the body of the query letter.

Photos, Art Work and Cartoons Portfolios: Should be sent as a PDF, JPG. or PNG attachments and should be accompanied by a proper query letter. Please include your contact details including full name, postal address, e-mail and telephone number in the body of the query letter. (Note: this area particularly the publication is interested only in avant-garde content. We are not interested in ordinary wildlife or landscapes. Portraits will be considered if they have a unique quality to them.)

Feature articles, Profiles, Conversations and Interviews: Please attach your pitch letters as a PDF or WORD attachment. Please include any photos or graphic illustrations that you feel would help your pitch. Please include your contact details including full name, postal address, e-mail and telephone number in the body of the letter.

Note: Please thoroughly check your submissions for proper formatting, grammar and punctuation. Gross errors in these areas will seriously damage any works consideration for publication.

Deadline Extension for Mahube

Please note that the WABO Executive Committee has extended the deadline for submissions for Mahube until the 15th of February. Please email your submissions to botswanawriters@gmail.com. For guidelines go here.

We look forward to reading your submissions.

A 12 month Residency for Writers in Berlin

A residency for writers, artists and film makers is available in Berlin. Read everything HERE

Applications and materials must as a rule be submitted before January
1. The juries meet in March or April. Invitations are then issued
for the following year.All enquiries and application forms should be
sent to:

Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
Berliner Künstlerprogramm
Markgrafenstraße 37, 10117 Berlin
Deutschland
bkp.berlin@daad.de
www.berliner-kuenstlerprogramm.de
berliner künstlerprogramm
artists-in-berlin programme
2

Invitation to the 3rd WABO Workshop- Journalism for Creative Writers

On Saturday 19th of November, the Writers Association of Botswana (WABO) will be holding the third in their monthly writing workshop series. The topic for this month is “Journalism for Creative Writers” and will be run by WABO member and well known journalist and columnist, Rampholo Molefhe.

The first hour of the workshop will be for the monthly topic. The second hour will be time for people interested in sharing their own work and having it critiqued by the group. If you intend to share work, it will be on a first come, first served basis and you will be required to come with photocopies of the work that will be read (at least 20 copies) for attendees. The work should be no more than 500 words.

The workshop will be at Maru-a-Pula School and will begin promptly at 2 pm. It is free for WABO members (with their membership cards), non-members will be required to pay P20. Membership forms and cards will be available if you would like to become a WABO member. The membership fee is P100 per year.

Please RSVP at botswanawriters@gmail.com with the subject “Creative Writers and Journalism workshop”.

Commonwealth Short Story Contest

Eligibility and entry rules

Please read these eligibility and entry rules carefully before beginning the online entry process.

Open for entries from 18 October 2011.

Entry forms must be submitted no later than 30 November 2011 (5pm GMT).

No entries will be considered if received after this date without prior consent from the Prize Administrator at writers@commonwealth.int

Download rules as .pdf
1. About the Prize

a. The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is an annual award for unpublished short fiction administered and funded by the Commonwealth Foundation

b. The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is part of Commonwealth Writers, a pan-Commonwealth initiative which unearths and develops new writers.

c. The prize covers the Commonwealth regions of 1. Africa, 2. Asia, 3. Canada and Europe, 4. Caribbean and 5. Pacific. (see Section 4 for countries in each region)

d. There will be five winners, one from each region. The overall winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize will receive £5,000 and the remaining four regional winners £1,000.

e. The final selection will be judged by an international judging panel; experienced readers will assist the named judges in selecting the long lists.

f. Worldwide copyright of each story remains with the writer. The Commonwealth Foundation will have the unrestricted right to publish the winning stories (the overall winning story and the four regional winning stories) in the annual anthology and for promotional stories.

g. The overall and regional winners will be expected to take part in publicity activities including social media where possible

h. The overall winner (and regional winners) will be expected to undertake a mutually acceptable programme of regional outreach activities to develop and promote Commonwealth Writers.
2. Eligibility

a) Entrants must be citizens of a Commonwealth country.
b) Entrants must be aged 18 years or over.
c) Entries will only be accepted via the online entry forms
d) The deadline for receipt of entries is 30 November 2011.
e) Writers from non-Commonwealth countries (including the Republic of Ireland and Zimbabwe) are not eligible.
f) There is no requirement for the writer to have current residence in a Commonwealth country, providing she/he is a citizen of a Commonwealth country.
g) The prize is for living writers.
h) The entry must be written in English (Works translated from other languages are not eligible).
i) All entries will be accepted at the discretion of the Commonwealth Foundation who will exercise its judgement, in consultation with the Prize Chair as necessary, in ruling on questions of eligibility. The ruling of the Chair on questions of eligibility is final, and no further correspondence will be entered into.
3. Entry rules

a) Entries must be made by the writer

b) For regional purposes, entries will be judged by country of citizenship. Where the writer has dual citizenship, the entry will be judged in the region where the writer is permanently resident.

c) One entry per writer.

d) The story must be the entrant’s own work.

e) The story must be original and should not have been previously published anywhere in full or in part. Published work is taken to mean published in any printed, publicly accessible form, e.g. anthology, magazine, newspaper. It is also taken to mean published online, with the exception of personal blogs and personal websites.

f) All entries must be written in English.

g) Entries must be 2,000 words minimum, 5,000 words maximum.

h) Entries must be uploaded in a PDF or word document (or equivalent). All entries must be submitted in Ariel 12 point font and double line spacing. The first page should include the name of the story and the number of words.

i) The author’s details should be included in the entry form, they must not be given anywhere on the uploaded document;

j) There are no theme or genre restrictions

k) The story should be adult fiction and must not have been written for children alone

l) Entrants agree as a condition of entry that the prize organisers may publicise the fact that a story has been entered or shortlisted for the Prize.

m) Entries will not be returned.

n) For any other entry or eligibility queries please email writers@commonwealth.int for clarification before submitting an entry.

FOR MORE INFO GO HERE.

MAHUBE 2012- Call for Submissions

Dear Members of the Writers Association of Botswana,

WABO is calling for submissions from members only for the third edition of our literary journal, Mahube. The theme is WATER.

What we’re looking for:
- poems (maximum of 3) 40 lines maximum
-short stories (maximum of 2) under 1000 words
- creative non-fiction under 1000 words

The deadline for submissions is the 31st December 2011. Email all submissions to botswanawriters@gmail.com.

Submission guidelines:

1. On the first page of your submission include: the title of your piece, your name, postal address, email address, telephone number, and the date on which your membership was paid and membership number.
2. Please write MAHUBE 2012 in the subject line of your email
3. Send as an attachment.
4. Submissions can be in English or Setswana.
5. Writing previously published in other countries is allowed. Please give the publishing history of the piece.
6. Only emailed, typed submissions will be allowed.

All submissions must be accompanied by a letter declaring that the submitted works are the original work of the author who retains the copyright. Simultaneous submissions are allowed.

All decisions regarding acceptances will be communicated by 1st February 2012. The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Contributors whose work is published will receive one free copy of Mahube.

Changes at the Commonwealth Prize

Commonwealth Writers - A World of New Fiction at www.commonwealthwriters.org Commonwealth Writers will include a new website, on-the-ground creative writing activities within regional communities, increased prize money, and the publication of an anthology of the winning short stories. Commonwealth Writers aims to unearth, promote and connect new writing talent across the fifty four countries of the Commonwealth. It will do this in two ways: Prizes We’ve preserved the strongest elements of the Commonwealth Foundation’s existing prizes, while at the same time putting them on the contemporary map of international new fiction:

Commonwealth Book Prize
Awarded for best first book, this prize is open to writers who have had their first novel (full length work of fiction) published between 1 January and 31 December 2011. Regional winners receive £2,500 and the overall winner receives £10,000. N.B. there will no longer be a Best Book award.

Commonwealth Short Story Prize
Awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000- 5,000 words). Regional winners receive £1,000 and the overall winner receives £5,000. For each prize we award four regional winners and one overall winner. The regions are Africa; Asia; Canada and Europe; Caribbean; and the Pacific. Both prizes are open to Commonwealth citizens aged 18 or over. Rules and eligibility information for both prizes, as well as the online entry forms, will be available at www.commonwealthwriters.org from 18 October 2011. The closing date for entries for the Commonwealth Book Prize is 9 December 2011 with last receipt of books by post no later than 16 December; and the closing date for entries for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize is 30 November 2011.

OpportunitiesCommonwealth Writers is on the lookout for fresh, new, talented writers from all parts of the Commonwealth. It aims to unearth those writers with talent, an original voice, and stories to tell. We’ll be working in partnership with international writers’ organisations, the wider cultural industries, and civil society to help new writers develop their craft. The prizes and outreach activities act as catalysts to target and identify talented writers from different regions who will go on to inspire and inform their local communities. Meanwhile, www.commonwealthwriters.org will be an online hub to inspire, inform and motivate distinctive new voices.
Please visit our website. We look forward to hearing from you at writers@commonwealth.int