Ma Kẹkẹ Special Edition

Gemspread Publishing in partnership with the African University of Communications and Business (AUCB) and the Pan-African Writers Association (PAWA) presents

Ma Kẹkẹ Short Story Contest

X

The Ama Ata Aidoo Award

Africa is blessed with numerous creative writing talents who need accessible platforms with a wide reach to share their gifts with the world. This contest and award have been instituted as such a platform to celebrate emerging voices on the continent. Flex your talent. Share your story. And this could be your open door to authorship.

Contest Details

Please carefully read the contest details and guidelines below before submitting your entry.

Deadline: Midnight (GMT +1) of 5th May 2025

Grand Prize: 500 USD cash prize plus a book publishing deal 

Shortlist Rewards: Manuscript feedback, access to an exclusive creative writing workshop, and a feature in the contest-exclusive anthology (more to be communicated)

Writing Prompt: Voices in exile

Entry fee: FREE

Eligibility: Open to unpublished*, emerging African writers between the ages of 18 and 35

*For the purposes of this contest, an unpublished writer is a writer who has not authored a book prior to 6th May 2025

Language of Submission: English, Arabic, or French (choose only one)

Judges: To be communicated

Submission Guidelines:

Submitting an entry outside the following requirements is grounds for disqualification:

1. The writing prompt is “voices in exile”.

2. The “Ma Kẹkẹ Short Story Contest x The Ama Ata Aidoo Award” is open only to unpublished writers of African descent living on the continent.

3. Previous winners of the usual, monthly Ma Kẹkẹ writing contest can participate.

4. Only fictional prose is expected; plays and poetry are not eligible.

5. Your manuscript must contain five thousand (5,000) words only (any manuscript outside a margin of ±1% will be disqualified).

6. Your submission must be your original, unpublished work; published works are not eligible.

7. The manuscript you submit to the contest must not have been entered into any other competitions running concurrently. 

8. Manuscripts must be blinded (i.e., identifying information like name, contact, etc., should not be included in the manuscript).

9. The grand cash prize will be paid in the local currency of the winner using the official exchange rate on the date of payment. 

10. The terms and conditions for the grand prize of a publishing deal will be communicated to the authors of shortlisted stories.

11. Entries that do not comply with the competition rules will be disqualified.

Manuscript Formatting Requirements

Your manuscript** must be formatted as follows:

• First page: Title and word count only

• Font: Times New Roman

• Font size: 12

• Alignment: Left-justified (except for Arabic submissions)

• Line spacing: Double

• Page numbers: On each page

• File format: .doc or .docx (Microsoft Word)

**Upload document via submission form

Click here to submit your work.

For clarifications, enquiries, and partnership, please email us at publishing@gemspread.com.