Bessie Head Literature awards rope in Children's category

KEOBONYE MAJATSIE
Correspondent | Wednesday February 10, 2010 00:00

 

A statement from the Writers Association of Botswana (WABO) says they are proud to announce prizes in literature for 2010; one prize to be awarded each for novel, short story, and children's story.

The competition is open to residents and citizens of Botswana. According to the statement, the categories and permitted lengths are: Novel more than 40,000 words; Short story fewer than 10,000 words; Children's story fewer than 10,000 words.

Submissions by writers must adhere to the following criteria:  the work must be original, unpublished and not submitted to any publisher; the manuscript must be in English and be thoroughly revised and proof-read; the manuscript must be typed or printed. Handwritten entries are not accepted. 

Writers may submit exactly one entry per year of the contest; they must not submit a school assignment. School projects are not accepted and their submission must include:

* a cover page with this information: their real name (no pen names are accepted), *their postal or email address;  * one or two phonenumbers for contacting you; and *a clear statement of the category of the work ('novel', 'short story', or 'children's story'). Writers must enter their own work and a publisher or friend may not submit it for them.

All entries must be postmarked by March  20 2010 and received no later than March 31 2010. Authors are advised that they may be asked to authenticate their work, and therefore one should not destroy any drafts, including the first one, since they may be asked to produce them as proof of originality.

 Contestants may only win once in any category in any three-year period (if you win a prize, you are not allowed to enter in the same category again for three years).Prizes The cash prizes include P 2,500 (novel) P 1,250. (Short story) and P 1,250 (Children's story). The winners of the 2009 prizes are: Cheryl Selase Ntumy, Crossing (novel), Gothataone Moeng Putting on Faces (Short story). The Bessie Head Literature Awards are sponsored by Pentagon Publishers and administered by the Bessie Head Heritage Trust. The Trust was established in June 2007 to promote the life and work of Bessie Head both here and abroad.

Pentagon Publishers and Bessie Head Committee believe this competition is important for two reasons: * to help preserve Bessie Head's legacy in Botswana, since she is our country's most famous writer who has gained broad recognition overseas; and * to encourage the development of local literature in various genres in English.Bessie Head herself was generous with her time when students asked her for assistance and advice, and we believe that this generosity is best reflected in a vigorous effort to promote literature and reading in Botswana.

It is through literature, music, and all other forms of cultural imagination that both personal spirit and national identity are nurtured and strengthened. (Sila Press Agency)