It is time for the ninth SU Woordfees Short Story Anthology. The previous anthologies were received very well by the reading public and critics alike. These publications will serve as testament to the zeitgeist which Afrikaans-speaking South Africans are currently experiencing.
The author of the winning story will receive a prize of R30 000. The rest of the writers included in the anthology will each receive R5 000.
Writers whose stories are selected for the anthology will be announced in the media during July 2024. The winning story will only be announced during the launch of the book at the 2024 Toyota SU Woordfees.
The anthology will, as usual, have the year’s festival theme as its title, but the festival theme will only be announced in 2024. However, short story writers participating in the competition do not need to consider the festival theme at all and can write about whatever they want.
Competition rules and regulations for entries:
• Only short stories in Afrikaans will be taken into consideration.
• The competition is open to all writers. Employees and family members of the Toyota US Woordfees are not allowed to participate.
• Only one entry per person is allowed. The length of an admissible story is a minimum of 1 500 words, and a maximum of 3 000 words.
• Stories must be newly penned and not have been published on any platform previously.
• Copyright of the stories remains with the writers, but copyright of the anthology will reside with the SU Woordfees. If stories included in the anthology are also published elsewhere, the SU Woordfees must be notified in writing. The SU Woordfees must also be acknowledged in print when the story is published.
• Judging is done anonymously. The name of the writer as well as contact details must be completed on the online application form. Only the title of the story must appear on the top of the story, not the name of the author, to ensure anonymous selection.
• Stories must be presented in MS Word format and each page must be numbered and clearly display the title of the story. Use only the title of the story as the title of the document (file name). Please note: No PDFs will be accepted.
• If the story contains any blatantly obvious references to the writer which will enable the reader to identify the writer, the story will be disqualified.
• Stories will be edited before publication, with agreement of the writer.
• The theme of the story is left entirely to the author.
• The anthology will include a maximum of 25 stories.
The closing date for entries is at 17:00 on 1 April 2024. (And no, it’s not an April Fool’s joke.)
Entries received after 17:00 on 1 April 2024, will not be considered. Entries will be acknowledged upon receipt, but please note: only after 1 February 2024.
Click here for the online entry form and all the necessary information
Click here for more information on the Woordfees Short Story project.
Send all enquiries via email to woordfeesbemarking@sun.ac.za. Only written queries will be answered.
