# Caineprize — Submissions — The Caine Prize for African Writing, deadline Jan 25, 2027

> Caineprize lists “Submissions — The Caine Prize for African Writing” for short story, african writing. The deadline is January 25, 2027.

Canonical: https://www.usemissa.com/opportunities/submissions-the-caine-prize-for-african-writing-opp_b7cd3d83-4dc5-4b71-92b5-4b9243dd1ccc
Last updated: 2026-10-21

| | |
| --- | --- |
| Organizer | Caineprize |
| Type | Award |
| Deadline | Deadline Jan 25, 2027 |
| Fee | Fee not listed |
| Open to | Entries must be submitted by a publisher, not the author directly; publisher cannot be the author of the story |
| Where | global |
| Prize or pay | Not stated on page |

Official guidelines: [Caineprize](https://www.caineprize.com/submissions)

## About this call

The Caine Prize for African Writing is presented in the available materials as a short-story award open to writers of African origin, with submissions requested through an entry dated 25 January 2027. The source material does not name the organising body, and its descriptive excerpt, which refers to poetry, fiction, and essay and to direct funding, institutional recognition, and project resources, does not align cleanly with a short-story prize. That discrepancy should be read with caution rather than resolved by assumption. What the entry specifies is comparatively precise. Applicants are asked to supply a short story published within the eligibility window, the author's African country of origin, the story's word count, and the author's consent. No prize amount, fee structure, or detailed guidelines have been confirmed. The materials do not describe the jury, the curatorial rationale, or the form the award's recognition takes, and no information on what successful entrants receive has been verified. Given these gaps, the responsible reading is that the call's firm content is its eligibility frame and its deadline. Prospective entrants are advised to confirm the organiser, the full terms, and any financial or institutional terms directly from the official submission page before preparing an application.

## Eligibility

- Writer must be an African national or have an African parent; submissions must specify the African country
- Writers must be over 18 years of age at time of submission
- Story must be published within the three-year period ending one month before submissions open; for 2027 eligibility, work published 24 October 2023 to 24 October 2026
- Entries must be between 3,000 and 10,000 words
- Only fictional short stories; novels, children's stories, factual writing, plays, poetry, autobiography/biography not eligible
- Self-published and unpublished stories are not eligible
- A story may be entered only once; one story per author per year
- Publisher must obtain author consent before submitting

## What to send

- **Short story published within eligibility window**: Required
- **Author's African country of origin**: Required
- **Short story word count**: Required
- **Author consent**: Required

Check the organizer's own page before you apply. It has the final say on dates, fees and rules.

## Related

- [Caineprize](https://www.usemissa.com/org/caine-prize-for-african-writing)
- [All open calls](https://www.usemissa.com/opportunities)