Botswana: The Gaborone Public Library is hosting a competition for non-fiction creatives of the country. The organization has partnered with the Bessie Head Heritage Trust. The organization has been looking for undiscovered, unpublished authors to offer them some funding and support.
The official deadline for sending entries is January 31. The manuscripts that are selected among the entries will receive funding and support from the organizers. The competition is open for all members of the society. The organization is looking for elite manuscripts of creative non-fiction works.
The organizers have shared some rules for the submission of the manuscripts.
All submissions must adhere to the following requirements. Those submissions that do not will be automatically disqualified.
Submission Requirements for the Gaborone Public Library Contest
- All work must be original and unpublished, and you should state in your cover letter (not in the work itself) that the work is yours, that it has not been published or submitted elsewhere, and that it is not being considered for publication anywhere.
- All entries must be submitted in a closed and sealed envelope, including a cover letter that provides the following information: your name (no pen names), two reliable ways of contacting you (email, telephone number, or mobile number), the title of the work, and an accurate word count. This information should only appear in the cover letter and must not appear in the submission itself.
- The word limit is 2,500 words (it can be fewer than 2,500 words, but not more).
- All work must be in English or Setswana and should have been thoroughly revised and proofread, including having been edited for grammar and spelling.
- Only one entry per person.
- No school assignments will be accepted (young writers please note).
- The first page of the work must include the title of the work.
- Put the word “End” at the end of your work, centered on its own line.
- All submissions must be anonymous; there must not be any identifying information in the work.
- Use Times New Roman font, 12 point size, black text on a plain white background, with 2.5 cm margins. Fancy fonts and backgrounds or borders will be rejected.
- Left justify your text; right margins should be ragged.
- Double-space all your text. Do not single space.
- Indicate each new paragraph by indenting the first line of each paragraph by about 1/2 inch (1 cm).
- All submissions must be placed in an envelope labelled Creative Non-Fiction Submission. The cover letter should include information listed in numbers 1 and 2 above, but the entry itself must not include your name or any other identifying information.
Authors are advised that they may be asked to authenticate their work. Do not destroy any drafts in case you are asked to produce them as proof of originality.
All submissions should be hand-delivered in a closed, sealed envelope to the Botswana National Library Services Offices on or before 31 January 2024. The submission will be accepted only before 16:30 hrs
Further rules of the competition suggest
This competition is open to citizens and residents of Botswana ONLY.
Bessie Head Heritage Trust board members and members of their families, BNLS employees and members of their families, and members of judges’ families are prohibited from entering.
Winners may be asked to verify their identity and eligibility.
Winners will be notified after adjudication, and the prize-giving ceremony will be held on the commemoration of World Book and Copyright Day.
Details of the ceremony will be announced at a later date.