Home Competitions Afritondo Short Story Prize 2026 ($1,000 prize)

Afritondo Short Story Prize 2026 ($1,000 prize)

By
Dominic Nshimba
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afritondo-short-story-prize-2026-($1,000-prize)
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Deadline: December 23, 2025

Applications are open for the Afritondo Short Story Prize 2026. The Afritondo Short Story Prize celebrates outstanding fiction from Black and African writers worldwide. Each year, the prize invites entries that creatively address a chosen theme, showcasing fresh perspectives and imaginative storytelling.

This year’s theme is “transition”.

Synonyms include transformation, change, alteration, metamorphosis, adaptation, transfiguration, mutation, evolution, passage, movement.

A woman gives birth to her first child. A young, impressionable boy comes of age. A community bands together after the mysterious death of their beloved king. Far and wide, humans have become accustomed to this essential aspect of our existence. Yet, many people wrestle with it. Familiarity, after all, breeds comfort.

What happens when a place, a system, a people are in the process of becoming, or become something else? How much change is too much? When does transitioning become unbearable, unpardonable? And how do people respond to it? What do people learn from it?

They are always looking for stories that surprise them, that take risks with imagination and language. An ideal story for the prize will offer a unique interpretation of the theme, reveal something sly, something unexpected about the human condition, and leave them gasping days after they have put the story away.

Prizes

  • $1,000 for one winner
  • $100 for four writers on the shortlist

Eligibility

  • Open to Black and African writers worldwide.
  • Stories must be written in English and between 3,000 to 5,000 words.
  • Submissions must be in English.
  • Submissions must reflect the theme.

Application

The submission should be in Microsoft Word (doc, docx) and in the following format:

  • Double-spaced, Times New Roman or Calibri font, 12-point size.
  • The title of the story should appear at the top of the first page, followed by the word count. No further information is required.
  • Every page must be numbered.

Click here to apply

For more information, see guidelines and visit Afritondo Short Story Prize.