MacMillan offers cash to unpublished writers

Jan 11, 2001

ASK any African fiction writer and they will tell you that most manuscripts are never finished because the artist runs out of steam. If they are completed, most do not make it to publication.

By A. G. Musamali ASK any African fiction writer and they will tell you that most manuscripts are never finished because the artist runs out of steam. If they are completed, most do not make it to publication. It is a very frustrating and very lonely business, especially since, without publication, a writer has no claim to recognition as a creative artist at all. Now, the international publisher, Macmillan, is set to change all that. The publisher is offering big rewards for those discarded or incomplete pieces of fiction - strictly unpublished stuff. Moreover, Uganda's own Moses Isegawa, of Abyssinian Chronicles fame, is to sit on the panel of judges at the biannual competition. Remember we are talking US$ 3,000 to US$5,000 a piece. Doesn't it sound like a dream! The aim is to promote the best African writing, from all over the continent, says Macmillan, in their newly published competitors' package. They are putting up a four-category competition, in Junior Children's Literature (Ages 8-12), Senior Children's Literature (Ages13-17), Adult Fiction, and a special award for the most promising New Children's Writer. The junior children's category is for work of up to 8,000 words while for seniors it extends from 14,000 to 18,000 words. Writers of adult fiction are required to submit part only of the novel. No short stories please! All entries must be original, in English, and will be assessed on originality of the work as a whole, the quality of writing, and the work's appeal to the intended audience. All manuscripts submitted for the children's category must have a strong African content. The competitor's package provides guidelines. Children's category entries must be submitted to the nearest Macmillan office by June 30, 2001, while the adult fiction category remains open until November 30. Winners could see their work at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair in 2002. Ends.

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