LIPFest has opened applications for its 2026 Craft & Development Lab, a four-month virtual programme designed to support poets, spoken word artists, and writers from Nigeria, across Africa, and the diaspora.
The Lab is designed for early- to mid-career writers with active projects in development: manuscripts, spoken word albums, poetry films, stage works, and other long-form creative work that requires sustained engagement, critique, and support.
Over four months, participants will work closely with a faculty of established writers and practitioners through facilitated workshops, one-on-one mentorship, peer critique, and professional development conversations focused on building a sustainable creative practice.
At its core, the Lab is an attempt to build the kind of infrastructure many writers often have to search for elsewhere: sustained mentorship, rigorous conversation, artistic community, and practical support around the work itself.
Participants will receive:
- In-depth craft and career development sessions
- One-on-one mentorship
- Access to an experienced international faculty
- A rigorous peer community
- Portfolio Development Grant opportunities
- Showcase opportunities connected to LIPFest and partner festivals
All sessions are delivered virtually.
The LIPFest Craft & Development Lab is free to apply to and free to participate in.
The program is supported by Africa No Filter.
Eligibility
The Lab is open to early- to mid-career poets and writers with the discipline to take their practice seriously and the drive to take it further.
- Early- to mid-career poets, spoken word artists, or writers with an active creative practice and the commitment to develop it further.
- Based in Nigeria (primary cohort pool) or anywhere in Africa and the diaspora. A proportion of places is reserved for participants outside Nigeria. All sessions are virtual.
- Comfortable working and receiving feedback in English.
- Writers with active projects in development — manuscripts, spoken word albums, poetry films, or stage works in progress.
- Writers seeking to build or sharpen a sustainable creative practice and expand their professional reach beyond where they currently are.
How To Apply
- Submit two to three poems, or an equivalent passage of prose or spoken word script. Maximum 1,500 words combined (PDF).
- Statement of Purpose: 300 words. What are you working on? What do you need from this program? Be specific.
- Submit the Form. To apply, click here.
Applications close on 3 July 2026.
Best of luck to all applicants!
