As part of the Ubwali Hope Prize initiative, Ubwali Literary Magazine is introducing the Hope Prize Mentorship Program, a six-month virtual mentorship from July to December offered to a single writer from each year’s shortlist. The program aims to support one emerging Zambian writer by pairing them with an experienced professional in their genre.
The mentorship will kick off after the winner of the inaugural edition of the prize is announced in July 2024. The program will be mentor-led, including one-on-one virtual check-ins, writing and submission advice, and craft discussions. There is no separate application process; all runner-ups to each year’s Ubwali Hope Prize will be considered.
Ubwali Literary Magazine set up the Hope Prize in partnership with Shenandoah, to celebrate the best of Zambian prose and poetry. One winner, selected each year, receives an honorarium of $500, and is featured in the fall issue of Shenandoah. The shortlist from which the first Ubwali Hope Prize winner will be announced in July 2024 consists of Mutinta Nanchengwa, Mukandi Siame, Anna Zgambo, Gerry Sikazwe, and Emily Pensulo.
Also in July 2024, one of these brilliant writers will also be announced as the first protégé in the Hope Prize Mentorship Program, along with the program’s first mentor.
Ubwali Literary Magazine‘s founder, Mubanga Kalimamukwento, set up the Ubwali Hope Prize which is named for her mother, a woman who loved and taught literature in Zambia until her death in 1998. Her name was Hope. Only work by Zambian writers published in Ubwali Literary Magazine are considered. There is no separate application process, other than being published in Ubwali Literary Magazine as a Zambian writer.
