Jalada Call for Submissions

JA 04: The Language Issue

Jalada is pleased to announce a call for submissions for its fourth anthology. The anthology will be a celebration of language, featuring fiction, poetry, visual art and various essays on the very subject of Language. Writers are asked to submit original works written in their own languages and provide an accompanying English translation. We also ask writers to feel free to treat Language as a theme, where language can be a character, a topic in a story or even incorporate languages other than English as the theme in the story. Writers may also write in English or various Englishes.

Submissions will be received between April 15th and July 15th 2015 and the anthology will be published in September 2015.

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The specific guidelines for each category are provided below:

Fiction

Each writer may submit up to a maximum of three works of short fiction or excerpts. Each piece should be no more than 5000 words. Translations of original or published pieces are welcome, and these need to be accompanied by a brief abstract in English. Pieces should be formatted as follows: 2.0 spacing, 12 Font Times New Roman.

Poetry

Jalada will accept poems in any language, which if not in English will be accompanied by an English translation. Please send no more than three poems that do not exceed 10 pages. All poems by a single author have to be sent in one attachment, with each poem clearly marked. Pieces should be formatted as follows: 2.0 spacing, 12 Font Times New Roman.

Essays

Jalada welcomes scholarly and critical essays on the subject of Language and or translation. We extend this category to also include travelogue and memoir. All Essays must be in English, and must not extend beyond 7000 words. Pieces should be formatted as follows: 2.0 spacing, 12 Font Times New Roman.

Visual art submissions.

Artists should submit 2 copies of any piece of art, for web and for print.

• Web:
  Resolution: 72-150dpi
  min size: 1024×768
  format: JPG
  Colour space: RGB
• Print:
  Resolution – 150 – 300 dpi
  min size: A5
  format: TIFF/PDF
  Colour space: CMYK

Each piece of art should include the following information: title of piece, year created (and if the artist feels it necessary, a short contextualising/descriptive text).

This category will also include all submissions that present language in a visual manner, from typographic poems and posters to all other forms of text and display typography.

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Note:

1.      Submissions will be received between April 15th and July 15th. All accepted submissions will be notified by July 30th.

2.      All submissions must be sent to submit@jalada.org

3.      Each story has to be sent as a separate Microsoft Word attachment, in the .doc format (no PDFs) and clearly labeled with the story title and the names of the writer and/or translator.

4.      Make sure to include the word, “Language” in the subject line of your email.

5.      Each submission must contain the title of your piece and word count.

6.      Where applicable, the submission must contain both the original piece and the translation.

7.      All submissions must be accompanied by a biographical note, written in third person, and no more than 100 words in length.

8.      All submissions must be previously unpublished, except for the case of translations where the source text may have appeared elsewhere.

9.      Visual artists are welcome to submit their work.

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On paying for submissions: Jalada as a writers’ collective is still young and relies on the voluntary labor and generosity of its members. As such we are currently unable to pay writers for accepted submissions. However, we are happy to announce prizes in the form of book hampers for the editors’ top picks from the story, poem, essay and visual arts submission categories.

Jalada shall be awarding the following book hampers to the top submission in each category:

Fiction Hamper:

Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor
There Is a Country: New Fiction from the New Nation of South Sudan edited by Nyuol Lueth Tong
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
Africa39 edited by Ellah Allfrey
Shadows by Novuyo Rosa Tshuma
Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
Penumbra by Songeziwe Mahlangu

Poetry Hamper:

Cemetery of Mind by Dambudzo Marechera
The Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry, 5th Ed. edited by Gerald Moore and Ulli Beier
Mad Man at Kilifi by Clifton Gachagua
A Season for All Things by Daola Mabogunje
Turn Thanks by Lorna Goodinson
The Rose that Grew from the Concrete by Tupac Shakur
State of the Nation: Contemporary Zimbabwean Poetry edited by Tinashe Mushakavanhu, John Eppel and David Nettleingham

Non-Fiction Hamper:

The Devil that Danced on the Water by Aminatta Forna
One Day I Will Write About This Place by Binyavanga Wainaina
Migritude by Shailja Patel
The True Story of David Munyakei by Billy Kahora
Are We the Turning Point Generation by Chude Jideonwo
There Was a Country by Chinua Achebe
Lost and Found in Johannesburg by Mark Gevisser

Visual Arts Hamper:

24 Nairobi edited by Guillamme Bonn and Nick Ysenburg (accompanied by an animated film narrative by Jimmy Chuchu)
Kenya Burning edited by Billy Kahora

Copyright: All rights remain with the writer. Individual Jalada Anthologies are all licensed under the Creative Commons (share-alike, non-commercial) licence.

Please write to letters@jalada.org if you require more information.