Poda-Poda Stories has announced a call for submissions for its upcoming December 2025 issue, themed “Mundanity”. The magazine is inviting submissions that explore the interpretation of the mundane in a creative way, through photography, poetry, fiction, and non-fiction.
Submissions are open to writers and artists residing on the African continent, members of the African diaspora, individuals with African citizenship, as well as those living in the Caribbean or of Caribbean descent and its diaspora
Founded in 2020 by Sierra Leonean writer and journalist Ngozi Cole, Poda-Poda Stories is a literary platform dedicated to publishing fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and literary criticism by both emerging and established Sierra Leonean writers. The platform was created to deepen engagement with Sierra Leonean literature and to highlight its breadth and diversity.
The issue will be reviewed by four guest editors: Liberian poet Jeremy Teddy Karn for poetry; Sierra Leonean writer and educator Charmaine Denison-George for fiction; Sierra Leonean journalist and writer Ngozi Cole for nonfiction; and creative director Yasmin Metz-Johnson for photography and digital art.
Submission Guidelines
- Separate Submission Forms: Only one submission per genre is allowed.
- Theme: Consider the meaning of mundanity and creatively explore it through characterization, plot, structure, subject, language, or theme.
- Originality: Work must be entirely your own. AI-generated or plagiarized content will be immediately disqualified.
- Formatting:
- Numbered page
- Double-spaced
- Times New Roman, 12pt font
Submit poetry/prose as a Word document (.docx or .doc). Images may be in JPG, PNG, or PDF format.
- Anonymity: Do not include your name in your submitted work.
- File naming format: Genre_FirstLastInitials_TitleOfWork
- Example: Poetry_MA_AndStillIRise
To submit your entry, please email your work as an attachment to editor@poda-poda.com with the subject line: ‘Genre_Mundanity Issue_FirstAndLastInitialsOfWriter’. Include a brief writer bio in the body of your email, and ensure your work follows all other formatting guidelines provided.
Deadline: September 25, 2025.
Best of luck to all applicants!
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
