Adaeze Prize for Novella

The Adaeze Prize for Novella is an annual contest designed to give aspiring fiction writers the opportunity to self-publish their first novella at no cost.

Submit for The Adaeze Prize for Novella

The Adaeze Prize for Novella, an initiative of Mental Health Awareness Africa (MeHAA), is an annual prize hosted in collaboration with Ikike Arts. This prize aims to spotlight stories that investigate and explore mental health themes. We seek stories that speak to our humanity and present a mirror through which we can view our individual and societal strengths and flaws.

Eligibility

The Adaeze Prize for Novella is open to all African writers—those born in Africa, nationals or residents of an African country, or those with African parents.

Submission Guidelines

  • Entrants must be African or of African origin.
  • The story must be between 9,000 and 12,000 words.
  • Format: Times New Roman, Font size 12, Spacing 1.5.
  • The story must be previously unpublished.
  • Each entrant can submit only one story.
  • Submission deadline: July 3rd, 2024.
  • Save the Word document in this format before uploading: Full Name-Title-APN2024 (e.g., Emeka Halima-Heaven’s Paradise-APN2024).
  • The judges’ decision is final.

Theme

The general theme is mental health consciousness and awareness. We encourage creativity and subtlety in exploring this theme.

About Mental Health Awareness Africa

Mental Health Awareness Africa (MeHAA) aims to lead the conversation on mental wellness in Africa. Launched in February 2022 with the publication of Adaeze, a novella depicting the state of mind of a young traumatized Nigerian lady, MeHAA spearheaded the StudentsAware Campaign in 2022 and collaborated with PaGidi Expressions to host the MBS Lagos Bootcamp 2024.

Submission Form

The submission window for the Adaeze Prize for Novella is currently closed.