Submission Criteria

The 2009 Burt Award for African Literature is open to Tanzanian nationals.

Submitted manuscripts will be reviewed by a panel of judges based on the following criteria:

The manuscripts should:

1. be written in English and display mastery and use of the English language
2. be thought-provoking and original
3. show creativity, readability and suitability to adolescents and young adults (12 to 18 years old)
4. portray strong and admirable principal characters
5. use humour and/or suspense to entertain and captivate the reader
6. deploy dialogue to make the story lively and allow for dramatization
7. reflect modern realities and indicate some of the social problems facing adolescents and young adults in Tanzania today

Manuscripts which have the potential to evolve into a book series or sequel will be welcome.

Guidelines:

1. The length of the manuscript should be between 150-200 pages
2. The manuscript should be in chapter form, type-written and double-spaced
3. The font should be Times New Roman, size 12 font

Deadline for submission is  February 27th, 2009 at 2pm Dar es Salaam time (GMT+3).

For more information or to send a manuscript, contact

Children’s Book Project for Tanzania

PO Box 78245

Dar es Salaam

Tel 255 22 2760750

cbp@raha.com