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Emerging Voices Awards 2015

The recently launched FT/OppenheimerFunds Emerging Voices Awards aim to recognise extraordinary artistic talent in three categories – fiction literature, film-making, and art – across more than 100 emerging market countries, that is, to recognise:

• the best creators of published fiction in English or English translation in Africa and the Middle East
• the top film-makers in Asia-Pacific 
• the most distinguished artists in a variety of media in Latin America or the Caribbean

THE FICTION AWARD

The fiction award will be presented to the author of a published work of fiction in English or published in English translation. The book must be a minimum of 20,000 words long and be written by a national or passport holder of one of the eligible countries of Africa and the Middle East. Submissions are invited from all publishers worldwide. Self-published works will not be accepted for entry. The winning author will receive an award of USD40,000.

Closing date for submissions is 30 April 2015. The works must be published for the first time between 1 January, 2014 and 30 September 2015. Books may be in print or digital form, or both. Publishers are asked to register their entries online first here.

A longlist will be announced on 5 June, 2015.

This will be followed by the announcement of three finalists on 7 August, who will be invited to attend an awards ceremony in New York on 5 October, 2015 at which the winner will be announced.

ELIGIBILITY

1. The Competition is open to authors who are legal residents or passport holders of any African and Middle East country listed here, and who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry.

2. There is no limit to the number of Books per author a Publisher may submit, providing they adhere to the rules.

3. An author may not enter the Competition if he or she is an employee, contractor, or immediate family member of any employee or contractor of The Financial Times Limited (“FT”) or OppenheimerFunds Inc. (“OFI”), or their associated companies.

4. To enter the Competition on behalf of an author, a Publisher must:
a. submit a Book which has been published for the first time between 1 January 2014 and 30 September 2015. Books may be in print or digital form, or both;
b. if a Book is in proof, it should be bound and accompanied by a jacket rough and author’s biography;
c. make submissions online and send one copy of each Book submitted to the address below by no later than 5pm British Summer Time on Friday, 30 April. FT and OFI can not accept responsibility for Books lost or delayed in submission. Proof of submission is not a proof of receipt.

Books should be sent to:

Diana Whittington
Financial Times
One Southwark Bridge
London SE1 9HL
UNITED KINGDOM

Residents or passport holders* from the following countries are eligible to enter the fiction award: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo DR, Congo, Rep, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

This list of emerging-market countries was defined by the World Bank Atlas Method (i.e. those with a GNI per capita of less than $12,746)

* Applicants will be required to provide proof of residency or a copy of their passport.

For further information, please visit the official website for the Emerging Voices 2015 Awards