10th Chinua Achebe Poetry/Essay Anthology call for entries
By Editor
FOLLOWING the success of its previous editions, the Society of Young Nigerian Writers (Anambra State Chapter) has announced a global call for submissions for the 10th edition of Chinua Achebe Poetry/Essay Anthology. The anthology, which celebrates the legacy of Chinua Achebe, invites writers from around the world to submit original and high-quality poems and essays in honour of the legendary novelist.
The annual publication, dedicated to immortalizing Achebe’s literary contributions, will be officially unveiled during the 10th Chinua Achebe Literary Festival and Memorial Lecture, scheduled for November 2025 at Prof. Kenneth Dike Central E-Library, Awka, Anambra State. This year’s event will also mark the 10th anniversary of the festival and lecture.
According to the Project Coordinator and Editor-in-Chief of the anthology, Izunna Okafor, who also coordinates the Society of Young Nigerian Writers in Anambra State, Chinua Achebe Literary Festival and Memorial Lecture was established in 2016 to honour Achebe’s life, works, and lasting impact on African literature. The event, he noted, holds annually on Achebe’s birthday, November 16.
Okafor explained that the anthology serves as a platform for both emerging and established writers to pay tribute to Achebe through their creative and critical works. He added that the 2025 edition is particularly significant, marking a decade of continuous literary celebration.
“It is with a view to make this year’s edition more remarkable and memorable that we are inviting writers from different parts of the world to submit their thematically written poems and essays,” Okafor said. “The anthology is in honour of Prof. Chinua Achebe; therefore, only entries that relate to Achebe, his works, his literary prowess, and legacies will be accepted.”
Entries may be written in English or Igbo and must not exceed 500 words for essays or 20 lines for poems. Submissions should be included in the body of the email—not as attachments—and sent to achebeanthology@gmail.com and synwanambrachapter@gmail.com with the subject line: “10TH CHINUA ACHEBE ESSAY/POETRY ANTHOLOGY (specify genre)”. The deadline for submissions is October 24, 2025.
Entrants may give their works any interesting title of their choices, but the poems and essays, reviews must relate to or be themed on either Achebe’s personality, his works, his literary prowess, feats, life, legacies or any other aspect of him. Author’s information —location, contact address, phone number, e-mail address, and a short bio of not more than 40 words about the author/poet — should be included in the submission.
Entries must be the original work of the author or poet. Any plagiarised work will be automatically disqualified and exposed. Only one entry per person is allowed.
Participation is free and open to writers globally. Selected entries will be published in both soft and hard copies of the anthology, and contributors will receive certificates of participation, copies of the publication, and media promotion. Additionally, the top ten essays and poems will receive special recognition and Certificates of Award at the 2025 Chinua Achebe Literary Festival and Memorial Lecture.
Accepted young Nigerian entrants will also gain automatic membership into the Society of Young Nigerian Writers.
For inquiries, interested participants may contact achebeanthology@gmail.com, synwanambrachapter@gmail.com.
