A Third Space, in partnership with CHEVS, is calling for submissions from queer West African writers for ‘Mismemories: Contemporary Writing from Queer West-African Voices.’
The anthology, curated and published by A Third Space under its Long Story Project, will bring together LGBTQIA+ contemporary fiction and nonfiction writers exploring love, desire, class, ambition and the ways queerness in West Africa runs parallel to the region’s evolving socio-cultural landscape.
The project is looking for stories that sit in the fullness of life, that challenge what it means to be queer today, stories that surprise, or reveal new worlds that expand the ones we think we already know.
A high priority will be placed on writers from countries historically underrepresented in the wider literary establishments such as Benin, Mali, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Cabo Verde, Niger, Togo, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Liberia. Alongside voices from more widely published counterparts such as Senegal, Ghana, and Nigeria.
Mismemories will be published digitally, on a micro-site, and in a limited print run in partnership with Elekere Press. Once published, A Third Space will curate a slate of programming to bring the stories to life through readings and small-scale productions of the stories included in the anthology.
Submission Guidelines
- The call is open only to West African LGBTQIA+ persons aged 18 and above, who are from and currently reside in a West African country.
- Anonymous submissions under a pseudonym are welcome.
- Submissions can be fiction or nonfiction, with writers required to submit to one genre.
- All entries should be within the range of 1,500–3,000 words in length.
- Novella submissions should be 8,000 – 12,000 words in length
- Submissions in French are welcome. Only ensure to include a short descriptor of the piece in English alongside your submission.
- All contributors featured in the anthology will be paid an honorarium of $100, and all works used in any A3S programmes will also be compensated.
Submission Window:
- Francophone countries ( Benin, Mali, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Cabo Verde, Niger, Togo, Burkina Faso, and Guinea): August 10th – September 30th
- Anglophone countries(Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia): August 24th – September 30th
- Please do not submit before your region’s window opens. Early submissions will not be considered, and submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
About A Third Space:
A Third Space is a creative conduit that rethinks how people gather and create through alternative and experimental artistic programmes. Its work spans literature, movement, visual art, sound, film, theatre and mixed media, with monthly programmes built around original and alternative ways of experiencing and interacting with art.
The organisation has curated and commissioned readings, film screenings, culturally timely conversations, monologues, listening sessions and mixed-media experiences featuring artists including Show Dem Camp, Yagazie Emezi, Nicole Asinugo, Josh Ike Egesi, Myles Igwebuike, Falana, Lady Donli, Bubu Ogisi, Dipo Faloyin and Molara Wood.
A Third Space also organises Route 3, an annual festival that brings together disruptive and alternative artistic works and experiences.
About Long Story Project:
The Long Story Project is A Third Space’s editorial and original storytelling vertical. LSP houses our archive of originally commissioned works from some of the continent’s most respected and emerging artists. They also curate and commission original projects from a wide range of voices with a focus on text, sound, oral storytelling, microfilms, visual art and photography.
If you have any questions, kindly reach out to A Third Space via email: hello@athirdspace.co.
