Call for Submissions | ‘Our Stories Redefined’ 2022 Anthology

Mystery Creative Writing Institute

In 2021, Mystery Publishers launched ‘Our Stories Redefined’ Anthology for New-age African Writing. (Check Here).

Our Stories Redefined Anthology for African Writing is a vehicle for new-age African writers to tell their stories to a generation that understands them.

Mystery Publishers is a premier Pan-African, author-focused, independent publisher of choice with a strong bias to African speculative and pop fiction. Based in Kenya, our mission is to create opportunities for new-age African writers and to foster passion for reading by collaborating with authors to help create stories and communicate ideas that inform, entertain, and inspire.

The anthology will be published by Mystery Books, an imprint of Mystery Publishers, and distributed worldwide via online retail bookstores, bookstores in Kenya, and available from academic institutions and libraries.

The 2022 edition calls for submissions in flash fiction stories (up to a maximum of 1,000 words long).

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Please read the following guidelines carefully. Submissions that do not follow any of the instructions will not be considered:

  • Genre.    Flash fiction
  • Eligibility.      The anthology is applicable ONLY to African writers. We define an African writer as someone born in Africa, or whose parents (at least one) are African, or someone who currently lives in Africa, and has done so for at least 10 years, including Africans in the diaspora. The participants should be 18 years and above.
  • Length.           Writers to submit a maximum of two stories, up to a maximum of 1,000 words long.
  • Language.     
    • The stories submitted should be in English (UK).
    • Works translated into English from any African language may be submitted, but they must be accompanied by their English version.
    • Translations of stories are eligible if submitted by the writer (not the translator) and provided the translator is an African.
    • Details of the translator must be stated on the entry, including the percentage of payment share between the writer and the translator.
  • Theme.           There is no fixed theme but we highly prefer speculative fiction cutting across the present and future, in Africa, and paint a clear picture of it. Strive to have an authentic African voice.
  • The stories should be original and should not have been previously published anywhere in full or in part. Published work is taken to mean published in any electronic or printed, publicly accessible form, e.g. anthology, magazine, newspaper, blogs and websites, including personal blogs/websites.
  • Submissions should be through email (redefined@mysterypublisherslimited.com) as follows:
    • subject heading: ‘Our Stories Redefined 2022 Flash Fiction Submission by YOUR NAME’;
    • the stories as a single Word (.doc, .docx, or .rtf) document;
    • document prepared in Times New Roman, font size 12pt, single spaced;
    • save your document as Word document ‘Redefined_Flash_Story_by_YOUR NAME’ as the file name; and
  • There should be no further identifying information about the author in the email or on the document.
  • We do not consider simultaneous submissions, i.e. work that is being considered elsewhere.
  • Submissions open on 15 February 2022 (8:00 a.m. GMT+3).
  • Deadline for submission is midnight 15 April 2022 (GMT+3).
  • Submissions received before/after the opening time/deadline will neither be considered nor will the authors be contacted.
  • Accepted contributors will be contacted for further guidance.
  • The accepted contributors MUST be available always for correspondence and editing of their works.
  • Enquiries concerning submission status after 15 April 2022 will not be entertained.

RIGHTS

  • You own, and shall always retain, copyright of your work; we shall retain the ‘Collective Work/Anthology’ copyright.
  • We ask for first serial rights on any story we publish. This means that the story should not have appeared anywhere else, in either print or online. (This includes publication on your website/blog.)
  • On publication, we ask for first print (exclusive) rights for six (6) months from the date of publication, and the right to keep the story in print as part of the anthology.
  • After expiry of the first print rights, we ask continuing, non-exclusive print (publication) rights as part of, and in reprints of, the anthology only. This means that you can publish your story(s) on other platforms, either in print or electronically.
  • The author retains all rights not expressly granted to the publisher.

PAYMENT

  • THERE IS NO SUBMISSION FEE.
  • We shall pay US$5.00 (Ksh.500) to East African writers and US$7.5 (Ksh.750) to writers from the rest of the world for every story accepted for publication.
  • Writers within the East African region shall receive a copy of the anthology once published.
  • We shall NOT pay author royalties. Proceeds of the anthology shall be used to award pro-rata creative writing courses scholarships to applicants who shall qualify for Mystery Writing Academy creative writing courses.

PUBLICATION

The anthology will be published by Mystery Books, an imprint of Mystery Publishers Limited (www.mysterypublisherslimited.com).

TIMELINES

We are working with the following timelines:

  • Submissions: 15 February  2022 – 15 April 2022
  • Selecting submitted stories, contacting contributors: 16 April 2022 – 15 May 2022
  • Shortlisting of selected stories: 16 May 2022
  • Editing and proofreading: 17 May 2022 – 30 June 2022
  • Publishing process commences: 01 July 2022
  • Publication date: 16 September 2022