Tentative Media Partner: bellanaija.com Tentative Tech Partner: Samsung
The Dusty Manuscript Contest: Novella Version
Background From Chinua Achebe to Chimamanda Adichie, Nigerians are undoubtedly talented when it comes to writing!
But due to the limited number of publishers servicing a large and growing population of Nigerians spread out across 36 states, very few books are published yearly to showcase this talent. And majority of the few that are published end up being primarily by Nigerians in the diaspora.
okadabooks.com believes that this has to change, we believe that every Nigerian (not just a select few) no matter their background, their genre preference, their race, their language, their beliefs … deserves to be published so that we can tell the complete Nigerian story and discover the true diversity of our cultural experiences.
That's why we created the Dusty Manuscript contest, an annual literary prize for Nigerian writing to help discover the next generation of new and amateur writers of fiction!
Contest Summary The Dusty Manuscript prize is open to submissions of new English Language books and manuscripts from all authors and genres. Titles must be previously unpublished.
No entry fee is required. Entrants retain all publication rights. The top 20 entries will be selected by a panel of judges.
We believe this balance of judging/voting will help us discover a unique blend of skilled/marketable writers. The final ranking of the top 25 will be fully adjudicated by professional authors/publishers only.
So dust up your manuscripts and start writing...
Prizes • First Place: N500,000 to 1,000,000 (Samsung Device) • Second Place: N250,000 to 500,000 (Samsung Device) • Third Place: N125,000 to 250,000 (Samsung Device) • Top 5 books get their book e-published by okadabooks, including book cover designed, book edited and placed on the okadabooks front page for one month, including FREE book adverts/reviews on bellanaija.com • Top 10 books get N10,000 MTN credit and potentially Samsung phones.
Guidelines • Deadline: 30th May 2017 (NOTE: this date could shift forward or backward but not by more than 4 weeks) • Word count: 17,806 to 34,803 words • Submissions should be adult literary or genre fiction (in the sense of not being 'children's fiction') • The work should be in English • The manuscript must be new in the sense that it is unpublished in book form. • Eligible participants should have at least one parent born in Nigeria who holds citizenship of the same. • All entries must be submitted on the okadabooks.com portal. • In the description provide an overview and synopsis of the manuscript and a brief author biography. • To enter the contest, authors need to include #DustyManuscript2017 in the book title. • All Entries are highly recommended to have a well-designed book cover to complement their manuscript. • One entry per person
Contest Tentative Timeline • Entry Deadline: May 30th • Top 25 voting and judging: May 30th to June 28th • Final Judging: June 28th to July 30th • Announcement at Writing Workshop and Evening Gala: July/August (N500,000 for venue) • Editing/Cover design/Publishing of top 5 books: July 30 to September 30th
CRITERIA FOR JUDGING Work will be judged on the criteria set out below (note: judges may consider any other factors they deem appropriate): - Excellence of writing - Use of language - Interpretation and style of writing - Level of interest to the general public of the subject matter - Potential commercial success of the book - Completion rates, reviews, and ratings may be considered. - A long list will be selected by the editors of the magazine. The selected manuscripts will be reviewed by the judges who will pick a shortlist of ten and the eventual winner. The decision of the judging committees whether a work is eligible shall be binding.
ENTRY CONDITIONS AND RELEASE By entering, each Entrant agrees to: (a) comply with and be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor and/or the Competition judges which are binding and final in all matters relating to this Competition (b) release and hold harmless the Sponsor and its parent, subsidiary, and affiliated companies, the prize suppliers and any other organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising or promoting the Competition, and all of their respective past and present officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the "Released Parties") from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability.
Conclusion: Feel free to give us feedback no matter how good or bad. We want to make this contest dope! But more importantly, we want to find new Nigerian writing talent.
OkadaBooks
Tentative Media Partner: bellanaija.com
Tentative Tech Partner: Samsung
The Dusty Manuscript Contest: Novella Version
Background
From Chinua Achebe to Chimamanda Adichie, Nigerians are undoubtedly talented when it comes to writing!
But due to the limited number of publishers servicing a large and growing population of Nigerians spread out across 36 states, very few books are published yearly to showcase this talent. And majority of the few that are published end up being primarily by Nigerians in the diaspora.
okadabooks.com believes that this has to change, we believe that every Nigerian (not just a select few) no matter their background, their genre preference, their race, their language, their beliefs … deserves to be published so that we can tell the complete Nigerian story and discover the true diversity of our cultural experiences.
That's why we created the Dusty Manuscript contest, an annual literary prize for Nigerian writing to help discover the next generation of new and amateur writers of fiction!
Contest Summary
The Dusty Manuscript prize is open to submissions of new English Language books and manuscripts from all authors and genres. Titles must be previously unpublished.
No entry fee is required. Entrants retain all publication rights. The top 20 entries will be selected by a panel of judges.
We believe this balance of judging/voting will help us discover a unique blend of skilled/marketable writers. The final ranking of the top 25 will be fully adjudicated by professional authors/publishers only.
So dust up your manuscripts and start writing...
Prizes
• First Place: N500,000 to 1,000,000 (Samsung Device)
• Second Place: N250,000 to 500,000 (Samsung Device)
• Third Place: N125,000 to 250,000 (Samsung Device)
• Top 5 books get their book e-published by okadabooks, including book cover designed, book edited and placed on the okadabooks front page for one month, including FREE book adverts/reviews on bellanaija.com
• Top 10 books get N10,000 MTN credit and potentially Samsung phones.
Guidelines
• Deadline: 30th May 2017 (NOTE: this date could shift forward or backward but not by more than 4 weeks)
• Word count: 17,806 to 34,803 words
• Submissions should be adult literary or genre fiction (in the sense of not being 'children's fiction')
• The work should be in English
• The manuscript must be new in the sense that it is unpublished in book form.
• Eligible participants should have at least one parent born in Nigeria who holds citizenship of the same.
• All entries must be submitted on the okadabooks.com portal.
• In the description provide an overview and synopsis of the manuscript and a brief author biography.
• To enter the contest, authors need to include #DustyManuscript2017 in the book title.
• All Entries are highly recommended to have a well-designed book cover to complement their manuscript.
• One entry per person
Contest Tentative Timeline
• Entry Deadline: May 30th
• Top 25 voting and judging: May 30th to June 28th
• Final Judging: June 28th to July 30th
• Announcement at Writing Workshop and Evening Gala: July/August (N500,000 for venue)
• Editing/Cover design/Publishing of top 5 books: July 30 to September 30th
Judges Tentative
1. Eghosa Imasuen, Ake Festival (N200,000 honorarium)
2. Uche Okonkwo, Managing Editor Farafina (N200,000 honorarium)
3. Sally Kenneth Dadzie (N200,000 honorarium)
CRITERIA FOR JUDGING
Work will be judged on the criteria set out below (note: judges may consider any other factors they deem appropriate):
- Excellence of writing
- Use of language
- Interpretation and style of writing
- Level of interest to the general public of the subject matter
- Potential commercial success of the book
- Completion rates, reviews, and ratings may be considered.
- A long list will be selected by the editors of the magazine. The selected manuscripts will be reviewed by the judges who will pick a shortlist of ten and the eventual winner.
The decision of the judging committees whether a work is eligible shall be binding.
ENTRY CONDITIONS AND RELEASE
By entering, each Entrant agrees to:
(a) comply with and be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor and/or the Competition judges which are binding and final in all matters relating to this Competition
(b) release and hold harmless the Sponsor and its parent, subsidiary, and affiliated companies, the prize suppliers and any other organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising or promoting the Competition, and all of their respective past and present officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the "Released Parties") from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability.
Conclusion: Feel free to give us feedback no matter how good or bad. We want to make this contest dope! But more importantly, we want to find new Nigerian writing talent.