African Writers, HummingBird Journal Issue 3 is calling you! Submit your prose, poetry, creative non-fiction, drama, and Hybrid writing.
As part of our celebration of African Union Day, HummingBird Journal is opening her doors to all writers from the continent, living here or abroad.
We do not have a prescribed theme for this issue. What we are seeking is work that feels ‘authentically African’. Now, we will not attempt to define or write a thesis on what that means—this continent is too vast, too layered, too beautifully diverse for any single definition to hold.
Send us your strongest, truest representation of the place you come from, the cultures that shape you, the stories you carry, the relationships you’ve built, the funny moments that give you warmth, and the futures you imagine, among others. Let your work remind us of Africa as we know it–or would like to know it. Your choice.
But note: we have a narrative shifting mandate (read more on this on our website).
As we always say, go bold, go wild. We would like to encounter pieces that take us home on a journey. We will know them when we encounter them.
Please, don’t be afraid to use languages other than English in your piece. Just be sure to include translations.
For this issue, we are seeking:
- 4 Prose Pieces
- 3 Creative Non-Fiction Pieces
- 6 Poetry
- 2 Drama and Hybrid Pieces
We will maintain a 60:40 ratio of Ghanaian writers to writers from other African countries.
Eligibility
- This call is open to African writers only.
At The Hummingbird, we use ‘African’ broadly and inclusively. You are welcome to submit if you:
- are a citizen of an African country, whether living on the continent or in the diaspora
- are of African heritage or descent (including mixed heritage)
- are a non-African with a strong and lived connection to the continent, for example, by being born, raised, or having long-term residence in an African country
- You must be 18 years or older.
- Writers published in Issues 1 and 2 are not eligible to submit.
- We do not accept works generated in whole or in part with AI tools. We have a strong anti-AI policy. We live for the nuances of human creativity. Look elsewhere if you cannot write your work yourself!
- We do not accept previously published work. This includes blogs, self-published pieces, or any publication that retains public access.
DEADLINE: Submissions Close: May 31
Works submitted after this day would not be considered.
READ FULL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES HERE. You would also find the submission link there.
If you have any queries, click here to send them and the team will get back to you.
Photo by Kureng Workx