Ubwali Literary Magazine has opened submissions for the new year, inviting Zambian and African artists to share their unique voices across various genres.
Ubwali Literary Magazine, founded in 2023 by Mubanga Kalimamukwento, is an independently funded online platform dedicated to publishing exceptional Zambian fiction, poetry, and essays. Registered in Minnesota, USA, the magazine is committed to amplifying African voices and celebrating the richness of Zambian storytelling.
Submission Guidelines:
- Short stories should be between 3,000–6,000 words, essays up to 3,000 words, poems 1–3 in a single document, and visual art submissions must include 5–10 images.
- Submissions must be in English but may incorporate Zambian languages like Bemba, Nyanja, and Tonga.
- Authors may submit only one piece to one category per submission period, and rejected submissions should not be resubmitted.
- Novel excerpts are accepted if unpublished, self-contained, and within the word limit.
- Submissions must be in Word documents (not PDFs), using legible fonts such as Arial, Book Antiqua, Georgia, Garamond, or Times New Roman, with a 12pt font size and 1.5 line spacing.
- Images must be inclusive, positive, representative, unique, and creative, in color or black and white, with a size between 5 MB and 10 MB.
- Restrictions include no AI-generated work, no co-authored work, no translations, and only unpublished submissions, as self-publication, including on social media, counts as publication.
- A one-time $10 payment is offered per artist upon acceptance, and Ubwali retains first serial rights for 90 days post-publication, after which all rights revert to the author.
- Simultaneous submissions are encouraged, but authors must withdraw accepted work by emailing ubwalimagazine@gmail.com with the title and genre of the piece in the subject line.
Submissions are accepted during January, May, and July, closing on the last day of each month at midnight CAT. Zambian artists, regardless of their country of residence, are eligible to submit during all three periods. Non-Zambian African artists living on the continent may submit only during the January window.
To submit your entry, click here
For more information, please visit Ubwali’s official website.
Best of luck to all applicants!
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
