In-House Contest Version 3!

Our In-House contest is a little way we ensure that the writing never ceases. Think NaNoWriMo, but not in 30 days . . . all the time instead! And all the genres available as well, and best of all, rewards of special publications and publicity for contest winners.

Follow the discussion of this contest and topics on twitter with the hashtag #ROAinHouseV3

Welcome to Version 3. In this version, the hullabaloo of the 2016 American Elections quickly coming to a close gives its inspiration. The contest is themed “A New President”, and it aims to offer emerging African writers a chance to say a word or two about the electoral process and how leadership impacts the life of Africans in a more general perspective.

Contest Eligibility:

You have to be African, an active or passive member of Route Africa, and have identified with a Route Africa activity unit in order to participate. To become a member, click here.

Contest Rules:

No simultaneous submissions. No multiple submissions.

Submissions can be made in person to our Chief Editor (Phone: +2348136659798), or email to routeafricamail@gmail.com.

There are 12 categories for the contest, and contest submissions must be made in the format described below:

Category 1: Best Review of African Literature on Wattpad

Task: Write a review, considering the social-scape and dominant demographics of wattpad, of “Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Word Count: Minimum of 1500 and Maximum of 2000 words.

Note: Review must be written on wattpad, on the user profile of the author alone, as a fresh story with only one part. The winning story gets included in a new collection series by the wattpad community profile for the Route Africa activity unit, Meet Africa Initiative, and in addition, receives a Route Africa Seal on its cover page. Still in addition, if the review is good enough, it stands a chance to get a shout out from our established partners, and a possible publication in established online literary magazines too.

Category 2: Best Spoken Word Poetry Piece

Task: Write and enact a poem that ends with the words “That Seat Will Burn Your Ass.” The title refers to how hot any presidential seat is for the one who sits on it.

Word Count: The written work should have a minimum of 1500 words and a maximum of 2000 words.

Note: The written piece should be mailed to routeafricamail@gmail.com with subject line “ROAV3 Spoken Word Submission”. The enacted piece should be uploaded to youtube on the youtube channel of the author of the piece. The winning piece gets a his video included in a video made by Route Africa, dedicated to his winning piece, included as a video series for our Spoken Word in-House Contest winners. If the piece is good enough, it stands a chance to get a shout out from our established partners.

Category 3: Best Fiction Piece

Task: Write on the Topic “The Gold in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue”. Word Count: Minimum of 3500 Words and Maximum of 5000 Words

Note: Fiction work must be mailed to routeafricamail@gmail.com as an attachment (.docx, .doc or .rtf formats) with subject line “ROAV3 Fiction Submission”. Include on the body of your mail a query letter indicating your name, location, and contact details. Also attach a recent photograph. (Click to learn how to write a query letter). Winning piece gets a publication in an established online literary magazine in partnership with Route Africa.

*1600 Pennsylvania Ave is the official address of The White House.*

Category 4: Best Non-Fiction Piece

Task: Write on the Topic “African Independence since 1950”

Word Count: Minimum of 3500 Words and Maximum of 5000 Words

Note: Non-Fiction work must be mailed to routeafricamail@gmail.com as an attachment (.docx, .doc or .rtf formats) with subject line “ROAV3 Non-Fiction Submission”. Include on the body of your mail a query letter indicating your name, location, and contact details. Also attach a recent photograph. (Click to learn how to write a query letter). Winning piece gets a publication in an established online literary magazine in partnership with Route Africa.

Category 5: Best Flash Fiction Piece

Task: Write on the topic “21^st Century Coup D’Etat”

Word Count: Minimum of 400 Words and Maximum of 700 Words

Note: Flash Fiction work must be mailed to routeafricamail@gmail.com as an attachment (.docx, .doc or .rtf formats) with subject line “ROAV3 Flash Fiction Submission”. Include on the body of your mail a query letter indicating your name, location, and contact details. Also attach a recent photograph. (Click to learn how to write a query letter). Winning piece gets a publication in an established online literary magazine in partnership with Route Africa.

Category 6: Best Poetry Piece

Task: Write on the topic “How Obama Influenced Africa”

Line Count: Minimum of 60 lines and Maximum of 80 lines.

Note: Poem must be mailed to routeafricamail@gmail.com as an attachment (.docx, .doc or .rtf formats) with subject line “ROAV3 Poetry Submission”. Include on the body of your mail a query letter indicating your name, location, and contact details. Indicate the poetic form employed on the body of the attached poem. Also attach a recent photograph. (Click to learn how to write a query letter). Winning piece gets a publication in an established online literary magazine in partnership with Route Africa.

Category 7: Best Written Play

Task: Write a play on the topic “An African Negro in The Oval Office”. (A tip to write on this topic is to observe the writing style of Mark Twain’s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” and convert it to a play; Download for free here).

Acts Count: Minimum of 3 acts and Maximum of 5 acts

Note: Written play must be mailed to routeafricamail@gmail.com as an attachment (.docx, .doc or .rtf formats) with subject line “ROAV3 Written Play Submission”. Include on the body of your mail a query letter indicating your name, location, and contact details. Also attach a recent photograph. (Click to learn how to write a query letter). Winning piece gets a publication in an established online literary magazine in partnership with Route Africa.

Category 8: Best Play-let

Task: Enact a play you’ve written (or one someone else has) on the topic “…and Women Ruled Africa”

Script Length: Minimum of 4 script pages and Maximum of 6 script pages

Acts Count: Minimum of 3 acts and Maximum of 5 acts (Choice of act or script is at your discretion)

Note: The written piece should be mailed to routeafricamail@gmail.com with subject line “ROAV3 Playlet Submission”. The enacted piece should be uploaded to youtube on the youtube channel of the author of the piece. The winning piece gets a his video included in a video made by Route Africa, dedicated to his winning piece, included as a video series for our in-House Play Contest winners. If the piece is good enough, it stands a chance to get a shout out from our established partners.

Category 9: Best News Coverage

Task: Cover recent news (not older than 3 weeks) focused on the topic “Which African Politician Recently Lavished Money?”

Word count: Minimum of 1500 Words Maximum of 2000 Words

Note: The News Piece must be mailed to routeafricamail@gmail.com as an attachment (.docx, .doc or .rtf formats) with subject line “ROAV3 News Submission”. Include on the body of your mail a query letter indicating your name, location, and contact details. Also attach a recent photograph. (Click to learn how to write a query letter). Winning piece gets a publication in an established online literary magazine in partnership with Route Africa.

Category 10: Best Review of African and Non-African Work

Task: Write a review of “Blackass” by A. Igoni Barrett

Word Count: Minimum of 2500 Words and Maximum of 3000 Words

Note: The review should be written and posted on goodreads.com with the goodreads account of the author of the work. Winning review will be included in a new Route Africa series published on our blog, centered on winners of out in-House contest Reviews. In addition, winning works have a chance to receive publicity for their works by any of our established partners, and in turn, have their works referenced in any publication by an established online literary magazine.

Category 11: Best Blog Post

Task: Write a Blog Post on the topic “If I Were President”

Word Count: Minimum of 1500 Words and Maximum of 2000 Words

Note: The blog post should be written and posted on the blog site of the author of the work. Winning posts will be reblogged on our blog, and be compiled for our “Blog Posts of the Year” at the end of the year, where featured authors will receive an award price (an appreciation for continuous writing and the beauty of the blogging art). In addition, winning works have a chance to receive publicity for their works by any of our established partners, and in turn, have their works referenced in any publication by an established online literary magazine.

Category 12: Best Interviews

Task: Conduct an interview with a young African and get him/her to answer the question, “If your advert will ensure a win for a presidential candidate, how would you run it?”

Interview Length: Minimum of 7 minutes and Maximum of 10 minutes.

Note: The written piece of the interview (if any) should be mailed to routeafricamail@gmail.com with subject line “ROAV2 Interview Submission”. The interview must be caught on camera, and the video should be uploaded to youtube on the youtube channel of the author of the piece. The winning piece gets a his video included in a video made by Route Africa, dedicated to his winning piece, included as a video series for our in-House Interview Contest winners. If the piece is good enough, it stands a chance to get a shout out from our established partners.

Contest Prizes:

Grand Prize: A chance to get your work published by an established online literary magazine.

Other Rewards:

Chances to be on the watch list of established personalities in the African Literary world, who have affiliations with us, and be announced by them.
Enlisting your work in our special collections of exceptional work.
Membership with a fast-growing literary community of youngsters in Africa.

Runner-Ups: The beauty of Route Africa’s in-House contests is that Everyone’s a Winner. Runner-ups will comprise of all the works that did not win. How do runner-ups win as well? They win by receiving a chance to redo (if necessary) their works, and have them published on our blog once redone as one of our regular blog posts/pieces.

Judges

Our judging panel consists of a carefully selected group of readers, and winners are chosen by popular opinion among these readers.

Deadline:

Each version of Route Africa’s in-House contest runs for a three-week period. Version 3 runs from 0900 hrs, GMT+1 Monday, 16th October, 2016 to 2100 hrs, GMT+1, November, 7th September, 2016.

Submissions will only be received for version 3 within that window. Any submission after this time will be ignored.

Contest winners will be contacted the following day, as well as runner-ups.

♥♥Good luck guys, and may the best writer win.♥♥