The Pan-African Writers Association, through its Young African Writers Committee, will publish the longlisted poems in two anthologies. The longlisted poems to be published in Anthology 1 are as shown in the flyer
These poems exhibit mastery of poetic techniques, clarity of ideas, emotional depth, quality, and authenticity.
There’s more to come: The longlisted poets to be published in Anthology 2 will be revealed in October 2026.
Poets aged 18 to 45 are invited to submit one poem each.
This call is still open to poets from the following nations or regions that haven’t participated yet:
1. Algeria
2. Angola
3. Benin
4. Burkina Faso
5. Burundi
6. Cape Verde
7. Central African Republic
8. Cameroon
9. Chad
10. Comoros
11. Republic of the Congo
12. Djibouti
13. Equatorial Guinea
14. Eritrea
15. Ethiopia
16. Gabon
17. Guinea
18. Guinea-Bissau
19. Ivory Coast
20. Lesotho
21. Liberia
22. Libya
23. Madagascar
24. Mali
25. Mauritania
26. Mauritius
27. Namibia
28. Niger
29. Rwanda
30. São Tomé and Príncipe
31. Senegal
32. Seychelles
33. Sierra Leone
34. Somalia
35. Sudan
36. Togo
37. Tunisia
38. African Diaspora
Please ensure that your poem has not yet been published on any public platforms.
Check your personal archives and choose the best poem that you have written in the past two years.
Your poem may be written in any language used in Africa. If it isn’t in English, please include a translation in English.
There is no restriction on theme or content.
The poem must have a minimum of 10 lines, and it should not exceed 30 lines. Word economy matters.
The submission deadline is 1 August 2026 at 23:59 GMT.
Judging criteria:
* Mastery of poetic techniques
* Clarity of ideas
* Depth of emotion
* Quality of composition
* Impact of execution
* Authenticity of expression.
Application link: https://forms.gle/pEqRkH7rMibQkjcC7
Please share this opportunity with poets across Africa.
Congratulations to the longlisted poets of the PAWA Poetry Competition! To celebrate the poets and encourage others to join, please feel free to circulate PAWA’s flyer.
Thank you for sharing the PAWA Poetry Competition in the media and across your networks.
Queries: +260955065455 (WhatsApp)
