Submissions
We publish creative writing, poetry, prose (stories and narratives), plays, visual stories such as photo essays, and comic and graphic artwork with a storyline in ANY language used in Africa, such as Swahili, Amharic, Yoruba, Zulu, Chichewa, English, French, etc. Submissions must be by, about, and/or for born-in-Africa youths. For the purposes of the Journal, ‘African’ is defined according to place of birth or heritage. It is not related to colour or race.
We also include artworks by African artists in the Journal to showcase their talent. This can be photography, paintings, sketchwork, graphic art, mixed media, fashion, ceramics, etc. We are interested in a variety of creative expressions, provided they do not promote division, and constitute hate speech, racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, other forms of discrimination, or fundamentalism. However, we welcome submissions that deal with these issues in a constructive and honest way.
[POETRY, PROSE, VISUAL, AND PLAYS SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED UNTIL AUGUST 2024.
AFRICA IN PICTURES SUBMISSIONS ARE OPEN INDEFINITELY]
All submissions must be the original creation of the individual submitting them, and they cannot have been previously published elsewhere. Please note that while the content we publish is mostly by youth aged 15 to 35, we also publish older individuals whose work is made for this age bracket.
Before submitting to us, please go through at least one issue to get a clear idea of what we are looking for, otherwise the submission may not suit JAY Lit. Our previous issues are available here.
Please send only one of each kind of submission per submission period, i.e. poetry or a short story, not both. Specific guidelines for the different artforms we accept are below:
Africa in Pictures
We’re always open to pictures of unique and beautiful sceneries from all across Africa and you don’t have to be a professional photographer to get featured. The picture(s) could be from your room window, or from a drive through your city, or from a visit to a memorable landmark. If you have taken a picture that showcases the beauty of our magnificent continent, then we want to see it.
Please send all picture submissions to africainpictures@jaylit.com, with location of the shot, sender’s name, and social media handles.
[SUBMISSIONS ARE ALWAYS OPEN]
Poems
For short poems, we want poems of up to 20 lines each. You can submit up to 5 short poems at once.
For longer poems, we want 21-50 lines. Please submit only one long poem at a time.
We will publish all forms of poetry, including oral, rhyming and non-rhyming poems, haiku, sonnets, etc., and even song lyrics. We will also consider themed collections. JAY Lit will take genre fiction, creative non-fiction, historical fiction, memoirs, flash and micro fiction, “I” stories, polyphonic narratives, etc.
We encourage submissions in any and all African languages, and in languages widely spoken in Africa. To help in making a decision on non-English texts, please include a short summary in English of what your submission is about when you send it.
Please wait until you’ve heard from us before submitting again.
Formatting and sending your poems (except if the poems are intentionally formatted differently):
– Use 12-point Times New Roman
– Double-space your work with justified alignment
– British and American English are accepted, but please be consistent
– Add page numbers at the bottom of each page
– Send documents in MS Word format
Please send your submission to poetry.submissions@jaylit.com. In the subject line, indicate if your submission is a long poem or short poem(s), put your name and the title of your submission. If you’re submitting a packet of poems, put the number of poems in the subject line instead. E.g. [Long poem – Sipho Adewale – Laugh Laugh Laugh], or [Short Poems – Sipho Adewale – 6 poems].
Simultaneous submissions are accepted. If your work gets published elsewhere, we congratulate you in advance, but please do not forget to send a withdrawal note in the same email thread.
[SUBMISSIONS ARE PRESENTLY CLOSED]
Prose
For short stories and personal essays (CNF), we want between 1,000 and 5,000 words.
For shorter prose (flash fiction or flash CNF), we want between 250 and 1,000 words.
We publish mainly literary prose, but while we’re not very big on genre prose, we’re open to being wowed.
We encourage submissions in any and all African languages, and in languages widely spoken in Africa. To help in making a decision on non-English texts, please include a short summary in English of what your submission is about when you send it.
Please send only one submission at a time and wait until you’ve heard from us before submitting again. It’s important to include trigger warnings if your submission include any content that require such.
Formatting and sending your prose:
– Use 12-point Times New Roman
– Double-space your work with justified alignment
– British and American English are accepted, but please be consistent
– Add page numbers at the bottom of each page
– Send documents in MS Word format
Please send your submission to prose.submissions@jaylit.com. In the subject line, indicate if your submission is a short story, a personal essay, a flash fiction, or a flash CNF, put your name and the title of your submission. E.g. [Short Story – Sipho Adewale – Laugh Laugh Laugh], or [Flash CNF – Sipho Adewale – Laugh Laugh Laugh].
Simultaneous submissions are accepted. If your work gets published elsewhere, we congratulate you in advance, but please do not forget to send a withdrawal note in the same email thread.
[SUBMISSIONS ARE PRESENTLY CLOSED]
Plays
For short plays, we want up to 5,000 words.
For longer plays, we want between 5,000 and 30,000 words.
We encourage submissions in any and all African languages, and in languages widely spoken in Africa. To help in making a decision on non-English texts, please include a short summary in English of what your submission is about when you send it.
Please send only one submission at a time and wait until you’ve heard from us before submitting again. It’s important to include trigger warnings if your submission include any content that require such.
Formatting and sending your plays:
– Use 12-point Times New Roman
– Double-space your work with justified alignment
– British and American English are accepted, but please be consistent
– Add page numbers at the bottom of each page
– Send documents in MS Word format
Please send your submission to prose.submissions@jaylit.com. In the subject line, indicate if your submission is a short play or a long play, put your name and the title of your submission. E.g. [Short Play – Sipho Adewale – Laugh Laugh Laugh], or [Long Play – Sipho Adewale – Laugh Laugh Laugh].
Simultaneous submissions are accepted. If your work gets published elsewhere, we congratulate you in advance, but please do not forget to send a withdrawal note in the same email thread.
[SUBMISSIONS ARE PRESENTLY CLOSED]
Visual Submissions
For comic book/graphic art, we want between 1 to 20 pages.
For visual stories, we want up to 5,000 words with corresponding images.
For artworks of all kinds (including photography), we want between 1 to 20 images that can pass as one body of work.
Please send only one submission at a time and wait until you’ve heard from us before submitting again. It’s important to include trigger warnings if your submission include any content that require such.
Formatting and sending your plays:
– Use 12-point Times New Roman
– Double-space your work with justified alignment
– British and American English are accepted, but please be consistent
– Add page numbers at the bottom of each page
– Send documents in MS Word format
Please send your submission to visual.submissions@jaylit.com. In the subject line, indicate if your submission is a picture collection, photo stories, comic, or graphic artwork, put your name and the title of your submission. E.g. [Picture Collection – Sipho Adewale – Laugh Laugh Laugh], or [Comic – Sipho Adewale – Laugh Laugh Laugh].
Simultaneous submissions are accepted. If your work gets published elsewhere, we congratulate you in advance, but please do not forget to send a withdrawal note in the same email thread.
[SUBMISSIONS ARE PRESENTLY CLOSED]
Translations
Make sure you’ve secured the rights to the original text if you’re interested in submitting translated work to us. Please send a pitch to Ibrahim.ibrahim@jaylit.com to discuss further.
Response Time
We try to respond to every submission within 2 months, although it might sometimes take longer. If you haven’t heard from us after 2 months, feel free to send a query in the email thread of your submission.
Compensation
While we do not offer monetary compensation at this time, we are working hard to change that soon. In the meantime, we take pride in all our contributors and try to be their loudest cheerleaders on social media and elsewhere.
Also, starting in 2024, JAY Lit will award the best fiction, essay, and poetry published over the course of the year in the JAY Lit Prize for Fiction, JAY Lit Prize for NonFiction, and JAY Lit Prize for Poetry categories respectively. Each category will come with a cash prize. We hope to include other categories in due time.
You can support our work by clicking the donate button on the top right of the page.