Golden Baobab Prizes for African Children’s Literature 2013

Established in 2008, the Golden Baobab Prize for Children’s Literature is a prestigious annual pan-African award for excellence in African children’s writing. Golden Baobab awards three prizes annually to eligible African writers: the Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Book, the Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Book, and the Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Writers. Submissions go through a thorough evaluation process and the final selection of winners is made by a prestigious panel of judges. Prize submissions must be unpublished stories. Winning stories are published through Golden Baobab’s top tier publishing partners throughout the African continent. Shortlisted and outstanding non-winning stories may have the opportunity to publish through these partnerships as well.

Golden Baobab Prize for Picture Books

This prize is awarded annually to the most captivating unpublished African manuscript for a picture book targeting readers aged 6-8 years old. Submissions should be between 700 and 2,000 words in length. The Golden Baobab Prize package includes an award of $1,000 (USD), the opportunity to publish with and receive royalties from Golden Baobab top tier African and international publishing partners, the benefit of increased publicity that comes with being named a Golden Baobab winner, and opportunities to attend exclusive Golden Baobab workshops to learn and grow as a children’s book writer.

Golden Baobab Prize for Early Chapter Books

This prize is awarded annually to the most captivating unpublished African manuscript for an early chapter book targeting readers aged 9-11 years old. Submissions should be between 5,000 and 10,000 words. The Golden Baobab Prize package includes an award of $1,000 (USD), the opportunity to publish with and receive royalties from Golden Baobab top tier African and international publishing partners, the benefit of increased publicity that comes with being named a Golden Baobab winner, and opportunities to attend exclusive Golden Baobab workshops to learn and grow as a children’s book writer.

Golden Baobab Prize for Rising Writers

This prize is awarded annually to a young African author under the age of 18 who demonstrates the talent and drive to become the next great African author for children. Entrants must submit a Rising Writer Personal Profile and an unpublished story that meets the Early Chapter Book Prize requirements (5,000 – 10,000 words intended for readers from ages 9-11 years). In addition to these, entrants who wish to do so may submit 4 more stories. These additional stories can meet either the Picture Book Prize requirements or the Early Chapter Book Prize requirements. It is not compulsory to submit additional stories but they may strengthen an entrant’s candidacy. Please note that entrants below age 18 who submit stories but do not submit a Rising Writer Personal Profile will only be considered for the individual book prize category in which their submissions fall, and will not be considered for the Rising Writer Prize. The winner of this prize will receive $1,000 (USD), the benefit of increased publicity that comes with being named a Golden Baobab winner, opportunities to attend exclusive Golden Baobab workshops to learn and grow as a future children’s book writer, and will serve on the prestigious panel of judges for the 2014 Golden Baobab Prize, bringing a critical young perspective to the evaluation process.
For Rules and Regulations, please click here. 
Submit your story here. 
Submission deadline for 2013 is 11:59pm GMT Sunday, July 14, 2013.