African Poetry Book Fund

Home
United States
Providence, RI
African Poetry Book Fund

Directions Website Contact the organization

APBF supports African poets by promoting the writing and publication of African poetry.

10/15/2026

📣 We are pleased to announce the judges for this year’s Evaristo Prize for African Poetry: Romeo Oriogun, Uhuru Phalafala, and Juliane Okot Bitek

The 2027 Evaristo judging panel will be chaired by Romeo Oriogun, the author of The Gathering of Bastards (University of Nebraska Press, 2023) and Sacrament of Bodies (University of Nebraska Press, 2020). Oriogun is the 2017 winner of this prize, when it was formerly known as the Brunel International African Poetry Prize. He is the first openly q***r writer to win the 2022 Nigeria Prize for Literature with his book of poems, Nomad, and his poems have appeared in the New Yorker, Prairie Schooner, Harvard Review, Narrative Magazine, and more.

Uhuru Phalafala is a senior lecturer of English literature at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. She is the author of Keorapetse Kgositsile and the Black Arts Movement: Poetics of Possibility and coeditor of Keorapetse Kgositsile: Collected Poems, 1969–2018 (Nebraska, 2023).

Juliane Okot Bitek is the author of four books – three collections of poetry and a novel. Her most recent work is We, The Kindling (2025, Alchemy), is a fictionalized account of women survivors of the Lord’s Resistance Army. She teaches at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, which occupies the lands of the Anishinaabe and the Haudenosaunee people.

10/08/2026

Where to catch Kwame Dawes on his UK tour ✈️

🔗 Link to purchase tickets in bio

10/02/2026

It is with great sadness that we mourn the death of celebrated Ivorian poet, novelist, and philosopher, Tanella Boni, who passed away in Toulouse, France on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.

Professor of philosophy at the University Félix Houphouët-Boigny, formerly the University of Abidjan (Cocody), Tanella Boni published numerous critical and literary works in French and won many literary awards, including the 2009 Antonio Viccaro International Poetry Prize from UNESCO for her body of work.

She is the author of over twenty books and was translated into over thirty languages. She published two collections of poetry with the African Poetry Book Fund — The Future Has an Appointment with The Dawn (University of Nebraska Press, 2018) and There Where It’s So Bright in Me (University of Nebraska Press, 2022), both translated by Todd Fredson.

Boni’s poetry grasps at the tension between the simultaneous beauty and horror of the human race and the socio-political state of the world. Bearing witness to the civil wars of Côte d’Ivoire, the racial violence of the United States, and the neocolonialism of Paris, Boni challenges both herself and her readers to connect with that universal tenderness that lies beneath the guarded exterior so much of humanity hides behind.

The poet’s earnest and philosophical investigation of geopolitical, economic and racial borders are justly resonant across space, language and time.

The African Poetry Book Fund is grateful to have shared Tanella Boni’s noble voice with our community, and we send our deepest condolences to her family, friends, colleagues and students.

We encourage readers to revisit her renowned body of work as we mourn her loss and remember her legacy.

10/01/2026

The 2027 Evaristo Prize is open! 💫

The Evaristo Prize for African Poetry is an annual prize of USD $1,500 awarded to ten poems written by an African poet.

📌 ELIGIBILITY
The Prize is open to African writers. An “African writer” is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, who is a national or resident of an African country, or whose parents are African.

The prize is open to African poets who have not yet had a full-length poetry book published at the time of submission. Self-published poetry books, chapbooks, and pamphlets are exempt from this stipulation.

Only poems written in English can be considered, but we welcome poems in translation for consideration too. In the case that the winning work is translated, a percentage of the prize money would be awarded to the translator.

No past or present paid employees of the University of Nebraska Press, Akashic Books, or Amalion Press, or current faculty, students, or employees at the University of Nebraska or Brown University are eligible for the prizes.

African poets who have published a chapbook in a New-Generation African Poets Chapbooks Box Set series remain eligible for the Evaristo African Poetry Prize if they have not published a full-length book of poems.

📌WHEN TO SEND
Manuscripts of 10 poems, no more and no less, will be accepted annually between October 1st and November 1st via Submittable. Please do not send any submissions via email. We do not have the capacity to track submissions by email and any manuscripts received as such will not be considered.

📌MANUSCRIPT
Poems must be the original work of the entrant and be no longer than 40 lines each.

Poems may have been previously published or won previous awards.

People who have entered previously for the prize can re-submit but are advised to share new poems.

While we have no specific formatting rules, we suggest sending your manuscript in Times New Roman or Arial, 12-point font, single-spaced. We also prefer one poem per page, meaning a new poem does not begin on the same page on which another ends. The entire submission must be in black ink, no colors.

🔗 For additional information, visit the link in our bio!

09/24/2026

You have one more week to submit to the 2026 Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry! 📖

📌 Please read the submission instructions carefully, as our shipping procedures have recently changed. 📦

The Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry is an annual award of USD $1,000.

🔗 Find a full contest description and submission details at the link in our bio.

❓ELIGIBILITY
An “African writer” is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, who is a national or resident of an African country, or whose parents are African.

Only poetry submissions in English can be considered, but we welcome published works of translation for consideration.

Self-published books and books published by the APBF and its African Poetry Series are ineligible.

❓WHEN TO SEND
Manuscripts are accepted annually between May 1st and October 1st. Download the entry form on our website.

❓MANUSCRIPT
Publishers may submit as many eligible titles as they wish. No entry fee is required to submit to this contest, but an entry form is required for each title submitted.

Due to an increase in international shipping fees, APBF will accept for consideration PDF galley entries from publishers who are based outside of the United States. Publishers based in Africa who submit a PDF galley entry are kindly asked to consider donating a hard copy of the book to the nearest African Poetry Library.

Please direct questions regarding submissions to [email protected].

09/22/2026

From Patricia Jabbeh Wesley’s Collected Poems: 1998-2020 (University of Nebraska Press, 2026)

Get yourself a signed copy at Jabbeh Wesley’s upcoming book launch on Friday, Sepr. 25th! 🤓

This event is free and open to the public. It will be live streamed via the Brown University events page.

FEATURING...

• A book signing and reading by Patricia Jabbeh Wesley

• An Interview: In Conversation with Scholar and Poet, Gabeba Baderoon

• A staged voicing of selections of the poetry of Patricia Jabbeh Wesley featuring: Rachel (Afia) Ansong, Zaynab lyasu-Bobi and Anya Lewis-Meeks

EVENT DETAILS

📆 Date: Friday, 25 September 2026
⏰ Time: 4 pm – 6:30 pm
📍 Location: Rites and Reason Theatre, 155 Angell Street, Providence RI 02905
📺 Livestream: Available via event RSVP

🔗 RSVP LINK IN BIO!

09/18/2026

Join our team as a postdoc! 🔎

POSITION DESCRIPTION
• 24-month, full time, in-residence.
• Awarded for the two-year period, beginning January 15, 2027.
• Competitive salary and eligible for standard employee benefits, including health insurance.
• For this position, Brown offers only the J-1 visa classification to scholars who need immigration sponsorship in order to enter the U.S. and commence lawful employment under the terms of their appointment.

🔗 FULL JOB DESCRIPTION & QUALIFICATIONS LINK IN BIO

🗓️ APPLY BY OCT 9TH

09/16/2026

THE SILLERMAN IS NOW OPEN! 💫

The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poetry is awarded annually to an African poet who has not yet published a collection of poetry. The winner receives USD $1000 and book publication through the University of Nebraska Press.

The Sillerman Editorial Team, including Kwame Dawes, Chris Abani, Matthew Shenoda, John Keene, Gabeba Baderoon, Phillippa Yaa de Villiers, Aracelis Girmay, and Mahtem Shiferraw will judge.

ELIGIBILITY

The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets will only accept “first book” submissions from African writers who have not published a book-length poetry collection. This includes self-published books if they were sold online, in stores, or at readings. Writers who have edited and published an anthology or a similar collection of other writers’ work remain eligible.

An “African writer” is taken to mean someone who was born in Africa, who is a national or resident of an African country, or whose parents are African.

Only poetry submissions in English can be considered. Work translated from another language to English is accepted, but a percentage of the prize will be awarded to the translator.

No past or present paid employees of the University of Nebraska Press, Akashic Books, or Amalion Press, or current faculty, students, or employees at Brown University, are eligible for the prizes.

MANUSCRIPT

• No entry fee is required to submit to the contest.
• Poetry manuscripts should be at least 50 pages long.
• The author’s name should not appear on the manuscript.

All entries will be read anonymously. Please include a cover page listing only the title of the manuscript (not the author’s name, address, telephone number, or email address). An acknowledgements page listing the publication history of individual poems may be included, if desired. No application forms are necessary. Eligible writers may submit more than one manuscript.

Be sure to review all formatting requirements on our website prior to submitting.

The Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets accepts electronic submissions ONLY.

09/15/2026

COVER REVEAL! ✨

The Griot of Strange Places by Romeo Oriogun is coming to shelves May 5th, 2027.

Romeo Oriogun is an acclaimed Nigerian poet and essayist. Author of The Gathering of Bastards and Sacrament of Bodies (University of Nebraska Press), Oriogun’s poetry has been published by Poetry Foundation, Harvard Review, and American Poetry Review.

This book will be his third full collection of poems with the African Poetry Book Fund! 🧡

09/08/2026

Patricia Jabbeh Wesley is the first major poet out of Africa’s oldest republic of Liberia since the nation’s founding and remains one of the most important poets from Africa. This evening is in celebration of her recent publication, Patricia Jabbeh Wesley: Collected Poems, 1998–2020.

This event is free and open to the public. It will be live streamed via the Brown University events page.

FEATURING...

• A book signing and reading by Patricia Jabbeh Wesley

• An Interview: In Conversation with Scholar and Poet, Gabeba Baderoon

• A staged voicing of selections of the poetry of Patricia Jabbeh Wesley featuring: Rachel (Afia) Ansong, Zaynab lyasu-Bobi and Anya Lewis-Meeks

EVENT DETAILS

📆 Date: Friday, 25 September 2026
⏰ Time: 4 pm – 6:30 pm
📍 Location: Rites and Reason Theatre, 155 Angell Street, Providence RI 02905
📺 Livestream: Available via event RSVP

🔗 RSVP LINK IN BIO!

Address

Providence, RI

Website

https://africanpoetrybf.brown.edu/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when African Poetry Book Fund posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to African Poetry Book Fund:

Want your organization to be the top-listed non profit organization in Providence?