In its bid to encourage local content in African literature, the African Writers Development Trust (AWDT) has announced a ‘call for submissions’ for 2019 African Writers Residency.

The initiative, which is being organised in partnership with the Writers Guild Kenya is open to writers of African descent living in Africa.

The fully-funded residency programme will take place in Abuja, Nigeria, in November for 21 days as part of the PenPen Africa Project.

The residency programme would also hold in Kenya in February 2020.

The PenPen Africa project is funded by Culture at Work Africa and co-funded by the European Union.

The Executive Director of the African Writers Development Trust, Anthony Onugba, said applicants from Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Congo DR, and Nigeria, are invited to apply.

The qualified applicants are also required to submit a non-fiction story of not more than 1500 words on the theme The African Identity.

Mr Onugba explained that one of the objectives of the African writers’ residency programme is to expose African writers to new cultures.

“It is aimed at providing transnational exposure and acclaim for writers of African descent, connect writers of varied backgrounds so as to improve social cohesion between the writing communities of Africa, among others,” he noted.

During the residency programme, workshops and several immersion activities into the local culture will be held. The writers will write two short stories which will have a cultural undertone.

A total of 24 short stories from the writers will also be compiled in a book and disseminated in hardback and eBook formats.

Intending participants are to visit writers trust website for more information.