Africa

The first internship is for graphic design and the second is editorial.

These “conversations are as absurd as they are beautiful,” writes the poetry series’ managing editor Precious Okpechi. “This is what literature does: bare life’s absurdity and beauty.”

The project, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and powered by Africa No Filter, is one of several to mark the continental group’s 20th anniversary.

The anthology, published by Jacana Media and edited by the chair of the award panel Otosirieze Obi-Young, includes work by Roy Udeh-Ubaka, Ukamaka Olisakwe, Moso Sematlane, Chisom Okafor, Halim Olaposi, Sheena Magenya, Kanyinsola Olorunnisola, and more.

The issue will be guest-edited by Tlotlo Tsamaase, Frazier Michael, and Lucky Grace. It opens for submissions on August 1.

The initiative, founded by the Nigerian novelist Suyi Davies Okungbowa, offers $500 to writers “to buy time, space, and resources” for their work.

“Having grown up in a small city in Nigeria where I had to cobble communities—both queer and literary—the value is in becoming a part of this incredible anthology that makes it possible for us all to exist,” said the Nigerian writer.

The Nigerian writer was chosen for his short story, “Until It Doesn’t,” which the judges called “brave fiction that tweaks the possibilities of the short story form.”

The 12 finalists, who get $200 each, were chosen by a judging panel chaired by Otosirieze Obi-Young and including Ellah Wakatama and Mark Gevisser.