Founded by Booker longlisted author Karen Jennings, we are delighted to announce that The Island Prize has opened submissions for its second year running.

The Island Prize is a literary prize that has been curated with the primary aim of helping African writers break into the UK publishing scene. This prize is open to unpublished debut novelists from all African countries, or the diaspora. All short-listed writers will be read by publishers and agents both in the UK, US, and South Africa.

The first year of The Island Prize exceeded all expectations. We received over 120 entries from all over the continent, a fine and diverse long list, and then an excellent shortlist. The winner already has a UK agent as a direct result of the prize, and three books have been offered publishing contracts. The competition has aroused much interest in the UK, and we expect even more this year.

All long-listed authors will receive detailed feedback on their submission, with their entire manuscript being read by industry professionals.

All short-listed authors will receive in-depth editorial attention to their entire manuscript, working closely with publishers, agents, and our judges to ready their work for submittance to agencies and publishers once the winner has been announced.

Prizes:
Winner – £500
Two Runners Up (Shortlist) – £200
Both the winner and runners up will receive detailed editorial feedback and will be mentored by industry professionals and read by UK and US agents.

The Maghreb Region Prize
This year, we are thrilled to be able to offer a £200 prize to the best writer from the Maghreb region.
This has been initiated by last year’s runner up, Hamza Koudri: “Just like I have been lucky to receive the support of the Island Prize team, it would give me immense pleasure to pay it forward and help at least one young author on their journey to publication.”

How to enter:

Writers must send the opening 3 chapters/10,000 words of a finished novel, along with a short synopsis to contact@hhousebooks.com .

Writers must be from any African country to apply.

Submissions open: Friday 9th September 2022
Submissions close: Friday 6th January 2023

Find further information and guidance on entering here.