Submissions
We publish work that engages deeply with African stories, culture, and lived experiences. We welcome submissions from writers across Africa and the diaspora.
Please review the guidelines below carefully before sending your work:
General Guidelines
- Multiple submissions are not allowed. Please submit to one genre only.
- We accept simultaneous submissions, but please notify us as soon as your work is accepted elsewhere so that we can withdraw it from consideration.
- We DO NOT charge submission fees. All submissions are free of charge.
- Please include a brief cover letter with:
- the title of your piece
- a third-person bio.
Send your submission to editorial@theirokocircle.org.
Our editorial team will review your piece and notify you if it will be published. Due to the volume of submissions, we may not respond to all entries.
Genre & Length Requirements
Fiction & Non-Fiction
- Maximum of 8,000 words of prose.
Poetry
- Maximum of three (3) poems, submitted in a single document.
Publication Status
- We consider only previously unpublished work.
- “Previously published” includes work that has appeared online or in print, including personal blogs.
- Exception: We will consider translations of works originally written in a language other than English, provided the English version has not been published elsewhere.
Rights
- The Iroko Press requires first serial rights to all accepted work. After publication, all rights revert to the author.
- If the piece is republished elsewhere, authors are asked to acknowledge that it originally appeared in The Iroko Press.
Review Process & Response Time
- Submissions are reviewed on a rolling basis.
- Due to the volume of submissions we receive, response times may take up to six months or longer.
- If you have not heard from us six months after submission, you are welcome to send a follow-up query to:
editorial@theirokobc.org
Please note that while we strive to respond to every submission, response times may vary depending on volume and editorial schedules.
What We Publish
We review African literature only, including:
- Creative fiction
- Poetry
- Non-fiction
What We Do Not Accept
- Religious pieces
- Inspirational books
- Science fiction
- Ebooks
- Audiobooks