The Safal Kiswahili Prize for African Literature is calling for manuscripts for its 9th edition. Submissions began on July 29 and will close on November 30.
Authors from East Africa and around the world who write in Kiswahili are encouraged to submit their manuscripts and participate in this year’s awards ceremony. They particularly encourage female Kiswahili authors to submit their manuscripts.
The award, previously known as the Safal-Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature, was renamed to reflect its parent organization and main sponsor, the Safal Group Limited, with its member companies Mabati Rolling Mills (MRM) in Kenya and ALAF (ALAF) in Tanzania.
Established in 2014 by Dr. Lizzy Attree (Short Story Day Africa) and Dr. Mukoma wa Ngugi (Cornell University), the award recognizes writing in African languages and promotes translations from, between and into African languages.
For the past eight years, the Safal Kiswahili Prize for African Literature has supported Kiswahili writers whose manuscripts have since been published by Mkuki na Nyota.
Over 24 issues can be purchased at https://mkukinanyota.com/shop/. In 2023, 259 manuscripts were submitted for the 8th issue.
Speaking to the press, Abdilatif Abdalla, Chairman of the Kiswahili Prize, said: “It is encouraging to see that the number of participants from both the continent and the diaspora is increasing year on year.
“Last year, a total of 259 manuscripts were submitted for the awards ceremony. This is a testament to the global spread of the Kiswahili language and as a language of unity for the African continent. We hope that this year even more authors writing in Kiswahili will submit their manuscripts,” he said.
Hawa Bayumi, ALAF’s Head of External Relations and Communications, says the Safal Group has over the years focused on four main pillars of the CSI: health, education, environment and shelter. The Safal Kiswahili Prize for African Literature falls under the education pillar.
“We are proud to continue to support the Kiswahili Prize for African Literature, which promotes Kiswahili literature and African languages. Kiswahili is one of the fastest growing languages in the world and is used in several countries in Africa. The SAFAL Group recognizes the importance of language as a critical tool for cultural, social and economic development. We will continue to encourage the growth of Kiswahili literature through these awards,” added Bayumi.
This year, the overall prize will be awarded to unpublished manuscripts in the categories of fiction, poetry, memoirs and graphic novels.
From 2023, already published books will no longer be considered. The total proposed prizes of Sh55.9 million or US$15,000 will be divided as follows: the Grand Prize for Fiction/Non-Fiction will be worth US$5,000; the Grand Prize for Poetry will be worth a similar amount of US$5,000, while the two runners-up in all genres will each receive US$2,500.
The winning entries will be considered for publication in Kiswahili by Mkuki na Nyota Publishers (Tanzania), who will then collaborate with other regional publishers and booksellers to ensure maximum reach of the winning books.
The winning poems will be translated into English and published by the African Poetry Book Fund. An awards ceremony with all shortlisted authors will be held in July 2025.
Unpublished manuscripts (fiction, poetry, plays, memoirs, and graphic novels) can be sent to: (email protected). Prose submissions should be limited to 40,000 – 60,000 words.
Tanzanian authors Philipo Oyaro and Fatuma Salim won the top prizes at the 2023 Safal-Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature.
Oyaro won first prize in the fiction category for his novel Dunia Duara (The Earth is Round), while Salim’s poetry collection Changa La Macho (Sand in the Eyes) won the top prize in the poetry category.
