adminCourage Musariri Entertainment Reporter
INTWASA Arts Festival’s Short Story Competition has extended its submission deadline from 30 June to 31 July. The competition has received fewer entries compared to last year and this has necessitated a deadline extension. “Last year we received a total of 81 short stories and this year we have 50 short stories which is lower, so we are giving writers in the country and abroad more time to submit their stories,” said Raisedon Baya, director of the festival.
Baya highlighted the need for more competition, as the reason for extending the deadline saying more story submissions meant a wider pool for the judges to choose from.
“We only have 50 stories at the moment and we want more. We want stories that can inspire readers and we know we have capable writers that is why we are giving them this deadline extension,” said Baya.
The Intwasa Short Story Competition is an annual literary event seeking to promote original creative writing in English and IsiNdebele. The competition has two awards; the Yvonne Vera Award for best short story in English and the Ndabezinhle Sigogo Award for best short story written in IsiNdebele. The prize for each is $500.
“Our idea was to honour Dr Vera by naming the award after her, as she was a top class writer. This was also to give inspiration to budding writers from the region to emulate her exploits,” said Baya
Entries are expected from all over the country and the Diaspora. The competition is open to all writers who can explore their writing and they are no given topics.
All works should be original and unpublished for them to meet the entry requirements. Each writer is allowed one entry and the story must be a maximum of 3000 words.
Only the short-listed candidates will be personally notified and winners will be announced during the festival in September.
The Intwasa Short Story Competition continues to grow and is in its ninth year.
Online Reporter