Ghana, as we know her, is never still. Charley, e dey move! Through her people, her politics, her cities, her villages, her struggles, her joys, her religions, her histories, her languages, her stories, her art, her music, her economies, her seasons…and the list goes on. She moves in the everyday negotiations of survival, of ambition, of becoming, of activism, of traditions, of identity, of belonging, of resistance, of reinvention, of hope. A lot has happened, a lot keeps happening. And because of that, we have stories all around us, everywhere you pass—in our streets, homes, markets, classrooms, churches, taxis, chop bars, trotro stations, kiosks, beaches, every corner you turn.

For this year’s New Voices Fiction Contest, you are invited to write this country in motion to life. Interpret the theme as broadly or narrowly as you want; as boldly, intimately, thematically, or stylistically as you choose. It can be personal, romantic, political…it can celebrate culture, confront systems of power, explore social realities, be joyful, tragic, critical…

We are committed to authentic Ghanaian storytelling—Ghanaianness, as we call it—in all its richness and diversity. Either through setting, character, language, worldview, culture, lived realities, or narrative form/style. Writers are encouraged to incorporate Ghanaian languages into their stories, and submissions written entirely in a Ghanaian language are warmly welcomed, provided they are accompanied by an English translation.

New Voices Contests is inspired by the storytelling ‘traditions’ of Ghana’s most influential writers. From Ayi Kwei Armah and Ama Ata Aidoo, to Efua T. Sutherland, Kofi Awoonor, and others who shaped the foundations of modern Ghanaian literature.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must:

• Be Ghanaian by nationality or of Ghanaian heritage.We use Ghanaian broadly and inclusively. You are welcome to submit if you:
  • Are a Ghanaian citizen, whether living in Ghana or abroad.
  • Are of Ghanaian heritage or descent (including mixed heritage).
  • Are not Ghanaian by nationality or heritage but have a genuine, long-term, and lived connection to Ghana—for example, by being born and raised in Ghana or having lived in the country for many years.
• Be at least 16 years of age at the time of submission.
• Be an emerging writer. Applicants must not have previously published a full-length novel, novella, or single-author short story collection, whether through traditional publishing or self-publishing. Publication in a multi-author anthology, magazine, journal, newspaper, or literary website does not count as publishing a full-length work and does not affect your eligibility.
• Submit original work that is entirely their own and created solely by the entrant.
• Submit only one entry per person.
• Submit work that has not been previously published in print or online, self-published, or shortlisted for another competition. Simultaneous submissions are permitted; however, if your work is accepted elsewhere during the judging period, you must notify the organisers immediately.

Employees, judges, readers, and individuals directly involved in administering the competition, together with their immediate family members, are not eligible to enter. The organisers reserve the right to verify an entrant's eligibility and request supporting documentation, including proof of age or eligibility, at any stage of the competition.

Submission Requirements

Stories must:

• Be original works of fiction. We do not accept previously published work. This includes blogs, self-published platforms, or any publication that retains public access
• Be between 2,000 and 5,000 words.
• Be written in English or in a Ghanaian language accompanied by an English translation.
• Be submitted as a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) document.
• Use a readable 12-point font (such as Times New Roman or Arial) with double spacing.
• Include page numbers.
• Contain no identifying information within the manuscript to ensure anonymous judging.

Anti-AI Policy

We do not accept works that are entirely or partly generated with AI or used AI processes, including, but not limited to, rewrites, character descriptions, outlines, dialogue, plot elements, descriptions, and many more. Any submission that violates this policy will be automatically rejected. If a work has already been selected, it will be removed. Writers who breach these guidelines will also be blacklisted from future submissions. And you will bring shame to yourself and writers who came before you, who, through cosmic handover of this baton, have trusted you to carry forward this sacred undertaking. Writing is a serious creative endeavour with inter-connected processes and journeys, each relying on the other to produce a very satisfying result. And well, sitting on your bum to actually write is part of this process. It is not easy but it is part of the process and the reward. With all due respect, don’t become a writer if you can’t commit to that.

Important Dates

Submissions Open: 15th July, 2026

Submission Deadline: 24th August, 2026

Longlist Announcement: 30th September, 2026

Shortlist Announcement: 10th October, 2026

Winners Announced: TBA

Late submissions will not be considered.

What We Are Looking For

Judges will assess submissions based on:

• Originality and creativity
• Quality of storytelling
• Strength of character and voice
• Literary craft and literary language
• Understanding of form/style
• Relevance to the theme
• Authentic engagement with Ghanaian life and culture

& many more. This list is not exhaustive. Get bold, get creative.

Judging Process

All submissions are judged anonymously to ensure fairness and impartiality. Manuscripts are separated from entrant information before they are read, and judges do not have access to authors' identities during the selection process.

Following the submission deadline, all entries are reviewed to ensure they meet the competition's eligibility and submission requirements. Entries that do not comply with the rules may be disqualified before judging begins.

First Round Review: Eligible submissions are read by a panel of experienced readers who assess each story against the competition judging criteria. Based on their assessments, a selection of the strongest entries is recommended to the judging panel.

Judges' Review: The judging panel independently reviews the recommended stories and selects the Longlist. Note that the judges would not have access to the readers’ scores or recommendations at this stage. Each story that makes it through to this stage is reviewed freshly.

• The longlisted stories are then reviewed in greater depth before the judges determine the Shortlist.
• The shortlisted entries also undergo a final round of assessment by the judging panel. After careful deliberation, the judges will select the competition winners and any additional commendations, where applicable.

Before the results are announced, the organisers will further verify the eligibility of the selected winners and confirm publication arrangements where applicable. Any entry breaching any rule could be disqualified, regardless of the stage of the contest they are in. The judges' decisions are final.

Prizes

WINNER

• GHS 1,5000 Cash Prize
• GHS 1,000 City Reads Book Voucher
• Featured Interview
• Featured reading
• Anthology Publication
• Mentorship with an established writers
• Workshops
• Certificate of recognition
• Spotlight promotion across platforms

2ND PLACE

• GHS 1,000 Cash Prize
• GHS 700 City Reads Book Voucher
• Featured reading
• Anthology Publication
• Mentorship with an established writers
• Workshops
• Certificate of recognition
• Spotlight promotion across platforms

3RD PLACE

• GHS 500 City Reads Book Voucher
• Featured reading
• Anthology Publication
• Mentorship with an established writers
• Workshops
• Certificate of recognition
• Spotlight promotion across platforms

SHORTLIST

• Featured reading
• Anthology Publication
• Workshops
• Certificate of recognition
• Spotlight promotion across platforms

LONGLIST

• Publication in a special edition Issue in HummingBird Journal
• Featured reading
• Workshops
• Certificate of recognition

More prizes & special opportunities to be announced.

Content Boundaries

Important guidelines about what we publish and what we cannot accept

We encourage bold, honest, and narrative-shifting work. That said, CPG does not publish work that includes hate speech or explicit sexual content that lacks artistic or narrative purpose. Submissions that dehumanise or target individuals or communities based on race, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, or ability will not be considered.

Content Notes: If your piece contains potentially triggering material (e.g., self-harm, sexual violence, abuse), we encourage including a content note at the beginning of your submission. This isn't mandatory, but it helps us handle the work with care.

Content That Cannot Be Published

Because of our narrative-shifting mandate, we cannot publish work that reinforces harmful stereotypes about Ghana or Africa, centres narratives of poverty, disease, corruption, or despair without nuance, or portrays the continent solely through a deficit lens. However, narrative-shifting does not mean avoiding criticism. We welcome bold, honest examinations of social, cultural, and political issues — including those that expose human rights violations, hold leaders accountable, and question systems or practices that harm people. Such work must be rigorous, evidence-based, and deeply authentic, rooted in a vision for progress, justice, and dignity.

Accessibility & Support

We want this to be accessible to all. If you encounter any technical or access barriers when submitting, please do not hesitate to reach out on IG or email. We're happy to assist or offer alternative submission methods where necessary.

Rights & Publication

We believe writers should retain ownership of their work. These terms are designed to protect authors while enabling us to publish and promote the competition and its selected stories.

Copyright: Copyright in every submitted work remains with the author at all times. Entering the competition does not transfer ownership of your intellectual property to the organisers.

Licence for Administration: By submitting an entry, you grant the organisers a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to receive, store, copy, and distribute your submission solely for the purposes of administering the competition. This includes eligibility screening, anonymous judging, record-keeping, and communication with judges and readers.

This administrative licence ends once the competition has concluded, except where your work is selected for publication.

Publication Rights

If your work is selected for publication, you grant New Voices Contests and Creatives Project Ghana a non-exclusive first publication licence.

This allows us to publish your work before it appears elsewhere. After first publication, you are free to republish your work in any format, provided that the original publication is acknowledged with an appropriate credit such as: ‘First published by New Voices Contest.’

Formats of Publication

Selected works may be published in one or more of the following formats:

• Printed anthologies
• Digital anthologies
• Creatives Project Ghana website
• Electronic publications
• Audio recordings or live readings
• Educational or cultural publications
• Promotional materials relating to the competition or anthology

Publication may occur individually or as part of a collection of winning and shortlisted works.

Promotional Rights

If your work is selected, you grant the organisers permission to reproduce reasonable excerpts from your work for promotional purposes.

This may include: Social media, Press releases, Marketing campaigns, Posters and flyers, Competition websites, Event programmes, Newsletters, Media interviews, Public readings

Wherever reasonably possible, excerpts will be accompanied by appropriate author credit.

Archival Rights

Following publication, organisers may continue to make published works available through its website, digital archives, anthology reprints, and other official publications related to the competition. These archival rights are non-exclusive and do not prevent the author from publishing the work elsewhere after first publication.

Editorial Process

Selected works may undergo copy-editing for grammar, spelling, punctuation, formatting, and consistency. No substantial editorial changes affecting the meaning, style, or content of a work will be made without the author's knowledge and approval. Authors will have an opportunity to review any substantive edits before publication.

Author Attribution

All published works will be credited to the author. Authors may request publication under a recognised pen name, provided this is communicated before publication.

Simultaneous Submissions

Simultaneous submissions are welcome. If a submitted work is accepted for publication elsewhere or wins another competition before judging is complete, entrants must notify the organisers immediately. Depending on the circumstances, the work may need to be withdrawn from consideration.

Withdrawal of Entries

Entrants may withdraw their submission at any time before publication by notifying the organisers in writing. Once a publication agreement has been accepted and production has commenced, withdrawal may no longer be possible.

Author Warranties

By submitting an entry, you confirm that:

• the work is your original creation;
• you are the sole author of the work;
• the work does not infringe the copyright, trademark, privacy, or other legal rights of any third party;
• the work has not been generated wholly or substantially using artificial intelligence in violation of the competition rules;
• all information provided during submission is accurate.

You agree to indemnify the organisers against any claims arising from a breach of these warranties.

Rights in Unsuccessful Entries

All rights in unsuccessful entries remain entirely with their authors. The organisers acquire no publication rights in unsuccessful submissions and will not publish, reproduce, or distribute those works without obtaining the author's separate written permission.

Future Publications

Authors remain free to include their published competition entries in future books, collections, anthologies, journals, or other publications after first publication by New Voices, provided appropriate acknowledgement of the original publication is given.

Moral Rights

Nothing in these terms affects the author's moral rights under applicable copyright law, including the right to be identified as the author of the work and the right to object to derogatory treatment of it.

Publicity

By accepting a prize or having a work selected for publication, authors agree to participate in reasonable promotional activities related to the competition and its publications.

These activities may include, but are not limited to:

1. Announcements of winners and shortlisted authors;
2. Author interviews and profiles;
3. Photographs and video recordings;
4. Public readings, launches, and literary events;
5. Media interviews;
6. Social media features;
7. Promotional campaigns for the competition, anthology, etc.

The organisers may use an author's name (or approved pen name), biography, photograph, and selected excerpts from the winning or selected work for publicity and promotional purposes without additional compensation. Participation in publicity activities will be arranged in consultation with the author wherever reasonably practicable. The organisers will make reasonable efforts to accommodate authors who are unable to participate in certain promotional activities due to personal, professional, or accessibility reasons.

Acceptance of Terms

Submission to the competition constitutes acceptance of these Rights & Publication terms. Once accepted for publication, authors will be provided with further contracts.

PLEASE, SUBMIT YOUR WORK HERE.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Privacy

Personal information collected during the submission process will be used solely for administering the competition and communicating with entrants. Information will not be shared with third parties except where necessary for the operation of the contest or where required by law.

Questions?

If you have questions about the competition or the submission process, please contact the New Voices Contests team through our official communication channels.

We look forward to reading stories that capture the many voices, places, and possibilities of Ghana.