The Caine Prize for African Writing has officially opened submissions for its 2026 award, inviting publishers to put forward their most compelling short stories by African authors.
The prize administration, in a statement released Tuesday, expressed their delight, announcing that submissions are now open and will accept stories that were published between February 27, 2021 and February 27, 2026.
Publishers are encouraged to submit recently published short fiction from eligible African writers. The closing date for all submissions is February 27, 2026.
Entries, which must be submitted by a publisher (including publishers of physical/digital books, literary journals, magazines, and arts websites), must be between 3,000 and 10,000 words in length.
The author, who must be an African writer (a national of an African country, or someone who has a parent who is African by birth or nationality, cannot submit their own work.
Ineligible Works:
Self-published or unpublished short stories.
Genres other than fictional short stories (e.g., novels, poetry, essays, factual writing, etc.).
Stories previously submitted to the Caine Prize.
Multiple Entries: Publishers may submit multiple stories but only one story per author.
Translation: Works translated into English are eligible, provided they have been published in English translation.
For the full rules of entry and to submit, publishers should visit http://www.caineprize.com/2026-submissions.
