Nobody is ever a refugee - Powerful speech by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Famous Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche, last week called on the attendees of the United Nation's World Humanitarian day to re-think the refugee crisis. Read her powerful speech below:

JK Rowling's alter ego 'Robert Galbraith' makes longlist for crime-writing prize

Award winning author JK Rowling's alter ego Roberth Galbraith makes the longlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the year for debut novelist and stalwarts in the genre for a crime-writing prize.

The Harry Potter series author, who wrote Career of Evil under the pseudonym 'Robert Galbraith', is featured on the longlist for this year's prize.

The longlist, which comprises 18 titles, was selected by an academy of crime-writing authors, agents, editors, reviewers, members of the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival programming committee and representatives from T&R Theakston Ltd and WHSmith.

Radar scan reveals Shakespeare's skull was stolen - Archaeologogist

Researchers, who used high ground penetrating radar to explore the grave of great playwright and poet, William Shakespeare, that his skull has been stolen from his grave.

The archeologist who scanned the church floor under which the Bard is buried stated that:

Ben Okri: 'The Famished Road was written to give myself reasons to live'

Ben Okri, 57, is a Nigerian poet and novelist. Okri is an accomplished writer and he's considered one of the foremost African authors in the post-modern and post-colonial traditions and has been compared favourably to authors such as Salman Rushdie and Gabriel García Márquez.

Ben Okri

25 years after his Man Booker-winning novel was first published, the talented author reflects on what motivated the magic 'The Famished Road' with THE GUARDIAN.

CALLS FOR ENTRIES: 2016 Writivism Short Story Prize.

The Writivism Short Story is opened to writers from Africa and writers must be resident in am Africa country.

All entries must be previously unpublished.

The prize money is $400 for the winner. Each writer who made the shortlist will also get $100.

THRESHOLDS International Short Fiction Feature Writing Competition. Deadline 6 March 2016

THRESHOLDS International Short Fiction Feature Writing Competition here again! THRESHOLDS is the only online forum dedicated to the reading, writing and study of the short story form. They are inviting submissions in either of the following feature categories:

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest

Do you write humorous poems, then this is for you. Win $2,250 in the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest.
Now in its 15th year, this contest seeks today's best humor poems. No fee to enter. Submit published or unpublished work.

Deadline: April 01, 2016.

Follow this LINK for entry information.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction and Essay contest

$4,000 up for grabs in the 24th annual Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction and Essay contest. You can submit published or unpublished work.

Each top story and top essay will be awarded $1,500 each.

Short Story: Travails of a Grave Tender

This piece is coming off my next short story series 'Travails of a Grave Tender' that will soon be available on KINDLE

September 17, 2010….

Lying on his sick bed and staring into nothingness, General Obaseki whispered in his barely audible voice “Oh how beautiful?”  Adebola his eldest daughter whom had just returned from the United Kingdom with her husband John, to be with her critically ill father, asked him ‘Daddy what is it’. Oh my darling he answered, I can see angels and they’re so beautiful. An uneasy silence fell over the room as everyone looked bewildered and tears started welling up in Adebola's eyes.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: AWP Award Series

Association of Writers and Writing Programs, is accepting entries for the 2016 AWP sponsored Award Series competition.

Deadline for submission of entry is February 29, 2016.

CALLS FOR ENTRY: Self-Published Book Awards

Hello LOVELIES, The 24th Annual Self-Published Books Awards is here and $8000 is up for grabs. This competition spotlights self-published books in 9 categories! This is your chance to win $8,000 in cash, a feature article about you and your book in the March/April 2017 issue, and a paid trip to the ever-popular Writer’s Digest Conference.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Bath Flash Fiction Award. Deadline 15 February 2016

All the writers in the house get in here ASAP! Win £1000 in the Bath Flash Fiction Award. BFFA is an international rolling flash fiction competition. Each award runs for 4 months. Judging takes place quickly with a top prize of £1000, £300 second, and £100 third. At the close of each competition, the next competition begins.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: The Theatre503 Playwriting Award.

Win £6000 in 'The Theatre503 Playwriting Award 2016'.

The Theatre503 Playwriting Award is an opportunity for playwrights at all levels to be recognised for writing an outstanding, original piece of work for the stage. It will build upon the foundation of the venue’s reputation for engaging with the next generation of playwrights, whilst broadening its opportunities to include more experienced, produced writers.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Escape Pod Flash Fiction Contest 2016

It's the fourth edition of the 'Escape Artist Flash Fiction Contest' and the contest is open for submissions.

Every author may submit one original story of 500 words or less for consideration before February 15.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: The Caine Prize for African Writing

£10,000 up for grabs in 'The Caine Prize for African Writing'. The prize is awarded to a short story by an African writer published in English, whether in Africa or elsewhere. Indicative length is between 3000 and 10,000 words.

A travel award for each of the short-listed candidates (up to five in all). The shortlisted candidates will also receive a Prize of £500.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: 2015 Long Poem Prize

All writers in the house get in here ASAP! The Malahat Review, Canada’s premier literary magazine, invites entries from Canadian, American, and overseas authors for the Long Poem Prize. Two awards of $1,000 CAD each are given. Poets contributing to The Malahat Review have also won or been nominated for National Magazine Awards for Poetry and the Pushcart Prize. The Long Poem Prize is offered every second year, alternating with the Novella Prize.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Queer Africa II. Deadline 31 January 2016

MaThoko’s Books welcomes entries of unpublished fiction in English, or your literary translation into English of a previously published story. Where necessary, the editors will work closely with writers to develop and refine submissions. Writers need not identify as queer, but do need to identify as African.

MaThoko’s Books invites writers to submit short stories of 2,000 – 6,000 words on a queer African theme, Deadline 31 January, 2016.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Awards. Deadline 25 Jan.

The Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Awards calls for submission in the following categories:

CALLS FOR ENTRIES: Cúirt New Writing Prize 2016

€500 up for grabs in the  Cúirt New Writing Prize, in memory of Lena Maguire. The categories are poetry and fiction.

Winners of each category gets €500 cash prize  and the opportunity to read at the Cúirt/Over the Edge Showcase event at Cúirt 2016. This year’s judges are poet Elaine Feeney and the Stinging Fly’s Declan Meade.

N100,000 for grabs in the Saraba Manuscript Project (Deadline Dec.15)

Hurry!!! And submit your entries for a chance to win One hundred thousand Naira in the Saraba Manuscript Project (Fiction and non-fiction). Saraba Magazine, Nigeria’s preeminent literary magazine based out of Lagos, has been championing the work of emerging writers from Nigeria and the rest of Africa since 2009.

In addition, each shortlisted manuscript will be published as an e-book and audio book, and Saraba will collaborate with a Nigerian publishing company to publish the winning manuscripts in print.