HOW TO ENTER
Eligibility Criteria
The story must have been published in the five years preceding the submissions deadline. For 2026 eligibility, the judges will only consider work published between 27th February 2021 and 27th February 2026.
Entries must be between 3,000 and 10,000 words in length.
Entries must be submitted by a publisher. This includes publishers of physical and digital books, literary journals, magazines, and arts-oriented websites. Kindly note that the publisher submitting the entry cannot also be the author of the story.
Writers must be over 18 years of age at the time of submission.
Self-published and unpublished short stories are not eligible.
Publishers are encouraged to submit multiple short stories as long as they do not submit more than one story by the same author.
Stories may only be entered for consideration for The Caine Prize for African Writing once. Unfortunately, this means that you may not re-submit a story for consideration, even if it was not selected for the shortlist.
Genres not eligible for entry include: novels, children’s stories, factual writing, academic essays, plays, poetry, autobiography/biography, and any work that does not constitute a fictional short story.
Submissions must specify which African country the author comes from and the short story word count.
Publishers must obtain the consent of the author before submitting the short story.
When submitting digitally published short stories, kindly provide a PDF version. Alternatively, you may instead provide a PDF containing a link to the publication.
Submissions that do not meet the above criteria will not be eligible for the Prize. If you have any questions or query regarding our eligibility criteria, please email: submissions@caineprize.com we will be happy to assist!
By submitting a story, publishers and writers agree to the conditions outlined above in the criteria, as well as those below in the Frequently Asked Questions section and Google Form. Shortlisted candidates will receive separate Terms and Conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Who is an ‘African writer’?
An ‘African writer’ is taken to mean someone who is a national of an African country, or who has a parent who is African by birth or nationality.
When should I apply?
Submissions for The Caine Prize for African Writing open on Monday, 1 December 2025 (00:01 GMT) and close on Friday, 27 February 2026 (12:00 GMT).
Who can submit stories for the Prize?
Entries must be submitted by the publisher or a third-party institution that is independent of the author.
Publishers of physical and digital literary journals, magazines or literature-oriented websites may submit entries for the Prize.
Self-published and unpublished works are not eligible for the Prize.
Short stories submitted by the author(s) will not be eligible for the Prize.
Can I submit unpublished or self-published work?
Unpublished works are not eligible for the Prize.
For avoidance of doubt, stories self-published on self-publishing platforms – WattPad, author-me.com, Lulu and Amazon Kindle, or similar – are not eligible for the Prize.
Are works published in online journals eligible?
The Prize accepts work published by journals in print and online, as well as work published in short-story collections and anthologies. If you have any doubt whether your work is eligible, please send an email to submissions@caineprize.com, and we will be happy to assist you.
Do you accept e-books or digital versions of entries?
Yes. We accept digital submissions.
What if my story is not in English?
Works translated into English from other languages are eligible, provided they have been published in English translation.
Should such a work win, the prize pot is split between the translator and the original language author along the following lines: 70% of the prize pot to the author, and 30% to the translator.
Does my story have to be fictional?
Yes. Only fictional short stories are eligible for the Prize.
Works not eligible for entry include: children’s stories, factual writing, academic essays, plays, poetry and autobiography/biography.
Short stores shorter than 3,000 words or longer than 10,000 words are not eligible for the Prize.
How long should my story be?
Minimum length of each submitted short story is 3,000 and the maximum length is 10,000 words.
Can I submit more than one story?
Publishers are encouraged to submit multiple short stories as long as they do not submit more than one story by the same author as the judges will only consider one work per writer in any given year.
On occasions where separate publishers have submitted different stories by the same author, we will contact the writer with an opportunity to choose which story they wish to put forward to the judges.
Can I submit stories by writers who have passed away?
No. Authors should be alive at the time their stories are submitted for the Prize.
If my story was submitted for a previous Prize but was not selected for the shortlist, can I enter it again?
Stories may only be entered for consideration in the Caine Prize once. Unfortunately, this means that you may not re-submit a story for consideration, even if it was not selected for the shortlist. You are, of course, encouraged to submit a different story, as long as it meets our eligibility criteria.
Permissions
By submitting an entry to the Prize, the publisher and author agree that, if the work is shortlisted, the Caine Prize will hold exclusive global print, digital, and audio rights for a period of two (2) years from the date of contract signing. Upon the expiration of this term, all rights revert to the author, while the Caine Prize retains a perpetual, non-exclusive right to reproduce and distribute the story in its anthologies and related materials.
By submitting an entry to the Prize, the publisher and author agree that, if the story is shortlisted, the Prize is granted permission to publish excerpts of the short story for marketing and promotional purposes. The author will always be credited for any publication or reproduced extract.
Shortlisting and Expectations
The winner and shortlisted writers will be invited to participate in online and in-person events should resources and circumstances permit.
By consenting to their stories being submitted for the Prize, the shortlisted writers agree to take part in Prize related events, including but not limited to in-person and online panel discussions, interviews, readings and podcast recordings.
The Prize will provide a separate letter detailing terms of agreement to the shortlisted writers.