10th Chinua Achebe Poetry/Essay Anthology: Call for Submission

The Society of Young Nigerian Writers (Anambra State Chapter) has announced a global call for entries for the 10th edition of the Chinua Achebe Poetry/Essay Anthology. The publication invites writers from around the world to submit original poems and essays honouring the life and legacy of the late Prof. Chinua Achebe, Nigeria’s foremost novelist and literary icon.

The 2025 edition will mark the 10th anniversary of the festival and will be unveiled in November at the Prof. Kenneth Dike Central E-Library, Awka, Anambra State.

According to the Project Coordinator and Editor-in-Chief of the Anthology, Izunna Okafor, who is also the Coordinator of Society of Young Nigerian Writers in Anambra State, Chinua Achebe Literary Festival and Memorial Lecture is an annual literary festival held in honour and memory of Achebe, in celebration of his life, works, contributions and legacies in the literary field.

The event, he noted, was initiated in 2016, and holds annually on Achebe’s date of birth, 16th November, with the last edition held in 2024, during which the 9th edition of the Chinua Achebe Essay/Poetry Anthology — “Echoes from the Anthills” — was unveiled.

In his words, he said:

“It is with a view to mark this year’s edition of the Festival in a much more remarkable and memorable way that we are inviting both burgeoning and established writers from different parts of the world, to enter their quality and thematically-written poems and essays for this 10th anthology. The anthology is in honour of Prof. Chinua Achebe; therefore, only entries that relate to Achebe, his works, his literary prowess and legacies will be accepted for publication therein.”

Submission Guidelines:

Only poems, essays/reviews are accepted for the anthology.
Entrant must specify the genre of his entry; that is, specify if it is poetry or essay/review.
The poems and essays/reviews MUST relate to or be themed on either Achebe as a person (his personality), his works, his literary prowess/feats, life, legacies or any other aspect of him.
The essay or poem should be as brief and concise as possible — maximum of 500 words for essays/reviews, and maximum of 20 lines for poetry. Any work that exceeds this limit may be automatically disqualified.
Author’s information —location/contact address, phone number, e-mail address, and a short bio of NOT more than 40 words about the author/poet — should be included in the submission.
Submission is FREE and open to writers from any part of the world.
Entry MUST be the original work of the author/poet. Any plagiarised work will be automatically disqualified and exposed.
Only ONE entry per person is allowed.
Entrants may give their works any interesting title of their choices; but the theme of the works must comply with the Rule No. 3 above
Entries should be sent to: achebeanthology@gmail.com and copied to: synwanambrachapter@gmail.com
The subject of the mail should read “10TH CHINUA ACHEBE ESSAY/POETRY ANTHOLOGY (SPECIFY THE GENRE OF YOUR ENTRY)”. Example: “10TH CHINUA ACHEBE ESSAY/POETRY ANTHOLOGY (POETRY)”
Entry and its title MUST be type-written and sent in the body of the mail; NOT AS ATTACHMENT. Entries sent as attachment will be automatically disqualified.
Entries may be written in either English or Igbo Language.
Submission Deadline: October 24th, 2025. Late entry/submission will not be ACCEPTED.

All accepted entries will appear in the published anthology in both soft and hard copies. Contributors will receive certificates, complimentary copies, and media recognition. The top ten poems and essays will also receive certificates of award at the 2025 Chinua Achebe Literary Festival and Memorial Lecture.

For inquiries, writers may contact achebeanthology@gmail.com, synwanambrachapter@gmail.com.