Calling all queer African writers!

Following the international success of Queer Africa: New and Collected Fiction, MaThoko’s Books has announced a follow-up anthology: Queer Africa II.

The publisher has invited writers to submit short stories on queer African themes for consideration to be included in the next anthology. The published stories will again be selected and edited by Karen Martin and Makhosazana Xaba.

Queer Africa won the fiction anthology category at the prestigious 2014 Lambda Literary Awards, which “identify and celebrate the best lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender books of the year and affirm that LGBTI stories are part of the literature of the world.”

The anthology has since been translated into Spanish, and an Arabic translation is under discussion. Queer Africa is also being used to teach literature and queer theory at prestigious universities, and continues to be written about in academic journals.

In a recent review by Ayub Sheik (University of KwaZulu-Natal), Queer Africa was described as a “milestone” and was celebrated for its groundbreaking representations of sexual and gender diversity.

Queer Africa featured eighteen stories by writers from six countries: Botswana, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe. The goal for the follow-up anthology is to publish stories from as many African countries as possible.

“We want an anthology that reflects continental diversity, but that also delves into local specificities,” said the publishers. “We are looking for stories that evoke believable characters and that take their readers on worthwhile human journeys.”

Stories of 2,000 to 6,000 words should be submitted to queerafricanfiction@gmail.com by 31 January 2016. Please provide a covering page with the title of the story, your full name, email address, telephone number and a bio of no more than 100 words. For translations, please also provide the writer’s name, the original title of the story and any publishing details.

All submissions will be acknowledged, and the final selection will be made by 30 April 2016.