Kalemba Prize

The submissions window will remain open from Monday 6th December 2021 to Monday 31st January 2022 at midnight (GMT).

Please note that we have now moved to an online submissions process. See our website for full Rules of Entry and instructions on how to submit for the Prize

Please find the link to the entry form here

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – Rhodasi Mwale has been announced as the winner of the 2020 Kalemba Short Story Prize for her short story, described as “quirky” by Judges.
The USD1000 award is for the best work of original and unpublished short fiction written in English.

Mwale won for If It Ain’t Broke. The story revolves around a protagonist struggling with depression and mental problems.

“Dr Theo assured me, in a stern, noncommittal tone, that the world wasn’t out to get me and that my children weren’t monsters sent to torment me,” she writes. “He scribbled a prescription and shuffled me out of his offices as fast as he could that I felt rejected. Had it come to this? Even a man I paid to listen wasn’t interested anymore. It was time to find a new doctor.”

A Biomedical Scientist and student of infectious diseases at the University of Zambia, Mwale, 31, remembers fondly “curling up on a bean bag in the library, in Grade 3, reading illustrated volumes of the Adventures of Tintin. In Grade 5, I read Eleanor Hoffman’s Mischief in Fez, and it has stayed with me since.”

On winning the prize, “just being shortlisted is everything because it means that I do belong on the African market. There is such a profundity to African literature that I’ve always felt that my voice is a tad too informal, my prose too simplistic for the market.”
A native of Kabwe Town, Mwale will be presented with the award at a special ceremony to be held in Lusaka in October.

Her story beat five others to win the prize including, Chowa Chikumbi, A Silent Cry; Vanessa Nakayange, I’ll Keep You Safe; Samuel Zimba, Junta or Divorce; Mukuka Nkunde, Daze and Otensia Kapinga’s After the Storm.

A total of 231 stories competed for the 2020 Kalemba Prize, now in its third edition.

The judging panel, chaired by acclaimed and award-winning Zambian novelist (Patchwork), Ellen Banda-Aaku observed that the stories that ended up in the top six were heartbreaking and poignant in different ways; a disgruntled housewife takes the opportunity to go back and change her life; a drunk husband opts to stay with a cheating wife as an excuse to stay drunk; a young woman’s father sides with her after she commits murder; a woman finds the courage to stand up to an abusive husband; rain churns up painful memories, and a mother covers up her daughters’ abuse to save the family.

“These top six stood apart in that they showed something more; a flair in writing, a fresh voice, emotiveness, an unusual twist,” said Banda-Aaku.

“If It Ain’t Broke was a clear winner. In this quirky written story, the narrator draws the reader in from the start with a fresh, honest voice about the state of their mind and life,” said the judges. “The mentally depressed protagonist is in a situation we have all been in at some point – the state of being discontented with our lives. The moral of the story is one most of us are aware of but perhaps need a reminder.”

Banda was joined on the panel by award-winning South African writer, Masande Ntshanga (Triangulum, The Reactive) – winner of the 2013 PEN International New Voices Award and a finalist for the 2015 Caine Prize; the youthful Rwandan-Namibian author, Remey Nagmidje, (The Eternal Voice of One) and Mali Kambandu, winner of the inaugural 2018 Kalemba Prize for her story, A hand to hold 

Mwale, who also writes under the name, Dhasi Mwale, has several fictions coming up including her debut novel, Note Worthy by Belonging Books. Other works are scheduled to appear in The Scarlet Leaf Review and Bewildering Stories.

An alumnus of Highbridge Secondary School, Kabwe, Mwale names Paul Cohelo as one of her major literary influences.

The Kalemba Prize is a home-grown initiative celebrating Zambian writing. It is funded and administered by Ukusefya WORDS, publishers of the national bestselling book, Insoselo na Mapinda.

The 2021 Kalemba Prize will open later in the year.

The short-list for the 2020 Kalemba Prize has been announced by the Chair of Judges, writer and novelist, Ellen Banda-Aaku.

Banda-Aaku described the six short-listed stories as “poignant, emotive and fresh with unusual twists.”

The winning writer will be announced on September 4, and will receive a USD1,000 prize for their piece of short fiction.

The short-list was decided by a panel of judges, who included Masande Ntshanga, Remey Nagmidje, Mali Kabandu and Ellen Banda-Aaku.

The six final entries are:

A silent cry – Chowa Chikumbi
Junta or Divorce – Samuel Zimba
I’ll keep you safe – Vanessa Nakayange
Daze – Mukuka Nkunde
If it ain’t broke – Rhodasi Mwale
After the storm – Otensia Kapinga

1. 107 – Noah Siwale
2. A choice of the Gods – Beard Mwanza Jr
3. A pale storm – Mutale Mubanga
4. A Promise to Keep – Leanet kamizhi
5. A silent cry – Chowa Chikumbi
6. After the storm – Otensia Kapinga
7. Amulets – Moreblessings Gondwe
8. Behind the suicide – Joseph Sakala
9. Bwela – Karen Bwalya
10. Chapters – Nancy Mubanga
11. Chibanda – Masiyaleti Mbewe
12. Conflicted – Syivia Mbewe
13. Daze – Mukuka Nkunde
14. Dear Lucy – Mikha Mweetwa
15. Deathbed lessons for black skin – Mwlwa Mushibwe Ntanisha
16. Fate or mere coincidence – Ireen Sangwa
17. Hidden stories – Taonga Nikiwe Thole
18. How it feels to fly – Wankunda Mphuka
19. If it aint broke – Rhodasi Mwale
20. Ignis Fatuus – Mbambo Sianga
21. I will keep you safe – Vanessa Nakayange
22. Ingrained Memories – Anna Mbu
23. Irresistible lake – Kelvin Sakala
24. Junta or Divorce – Samuel Zimba
25. Kunsha’s last steal – Ian Membe
26. Lost in heaven – Chishimba Malisawa
27. Misozi – Ireen Chikatula
28. Shield of lana – Peter Mbulo
29. Shipikisya club – Kateule Chabala
30. The In-between place – Lucy Zulu Simuzingili
31. The kind man and the little girl – George Chilala
32. The Lusaka hotel – Mthuzi Mkandawire
33. The magnificent clay pot – Mercy Zulu-Hume
34. The mine captain’s story – John Zulu
35. This side of the blanket – Nawa Sitali
36. Two steps – Natalie Simpamba
37. Watershed – Fiske Nyirongo
38. With love from a dying heart – Joe Nyirenda
39. Where from here – Peter Nawa

Kalemba Prize for the 2020 Short Story is open for submissions until 20 March, 2020.
Online Submission form
Note: Please read the Entry & Eligibility Rules carefully.

2020 Kalemba Short Story Prize –  KSSP 20
Please read these eligibility and entry rules before submitting your story.

Opening date
20 January – 20 March 2020
Entries submitted after March 2020 will not be considered.

About the Prize

1. The Kalemba Short Story Prize is an annual award for unpublished short fiction administered and funded by Ukusefya WORDS.
2. The prize is open to Zambian nationals only, including those resident outside Zambia.
3. The judging panel comprise authors, publishers and editors.
4. The winner will receive USD1000.
5. The winner will be announced in August 2020 
   Rules & Eligibility
6. Entrants must be Zambian citizens
7. Entries must be made by the writer.
8. Entries are accepted via online form 
9. The deadline for receipt of entries is STRICTLY March 20, 2020
10. Only one entry per writer may be submitted for the 2020 KSSP
11. The story must be the entrant’s own work.
12. The story must be original and should not have been published anywhere in full or in part before
13. August 2020 including in an anthology, magazine, book, newspaper and online.
14. Entries previously submitted elsewhere are not eligible.
15. Entries should be submitted in English. Entries in a Zambian language are only eligible with English translation submitted by the writer.
16. Entries must be between 2000-5000 words. (Entries exceeding word limit will automatically be disqualified.
17. Entries should be submitted in a PDF or Word document, preferably PDF, saved under title of the story.
18. The author’s details should be included on the entry form. They must not be given anywhere on the uploaded document. All entries are judged anonymously.
19. All entries should be submitted in Arial 11-point font and 1.5 line spacing. No handwritten entries. Include the title of the story on the manuscript.
20. The story should be fiction. There are no restrictions on setting, genre or theme.
21. Entrants agree as a condition of entry that Ukusefya WORDS may publicise a story that has been entered or shortlisted for the Prize.
22. Copyright of each story remains with the writer. Ukusefya WORDS will have the unrestricted right to publish the winning or any stories including for promotional purposes.
23. The winner will be expected to take part in publicity activities.
24. For any queries on entry or eligibility not covered above, please email info@ukusefya.com for clarification before submitting an entry. Frivolous queries, including on what is already covered in eligibility and rules will attract NO response.

You can download the guidelines >> HERE 

Online Submission Form

Mubanga Kalimamukwento is the winner of the 2019 Kalemba Short Story Prize for her short story, Inswa.

The Chair of the 2019 Kalemba Judging panel, Nigerian writer and professor of English, Ainehi Edoro, announced Kalimamukwento, as the winner of the USD1000 prize awarded to the best work of original and unpublished short fiction written in English by a Zambian writer.

Narrated in the first person, ‘Inswa’ is a coming of age story of a teen protagonist initiated into sexual awakening by her best friend, Wongani, while being pushed into premature adulthood by her parents.

Edoro praised the story as resonant and gripping “The author’s exploration of desire is nuanced, the prose is precise, but evocative. The writer captures the intensity and range of emotions that make such intimacies feel true and valid even in worlds where they are perceived as transgressive.”

Kalimamukwento is a lawyer and writer whose first novel, The Mourning Bird, won the 2019 Dinaane Debut Fiction Award. Her creative nonfiction and short stories have appeared in or are forthcoming in The Advocates for Human Rights Minnesota (USA), The Dreamers Creative Writing Magazine (Canada), Two Sisters Writing and Publishing (USA), The Eunoia Review (Singapore), The Best of Africa Magazine (Zambia), The Airgonaut (USA), SyncityNG (Nigeria), The Menteur (France), The Mark Literary Review (USA) and Overland (Australia).

“I’ve always been an avid reader of mostly African Literature, and my work is informed greatly by what I absorb. I especially love Ellen Banda-Aaku, NoViolet Bulawayo, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Kopano Matlwa, Lesley Nneka Arimah, Panashe Chigumadzi, and Tsitsi Dangarembga” says Kalimamukwento, a native of Luanshya Town, and the 2018/2019 Hubert Humphrey Fellow.

Read and download Inswa here

Other top and shortlisted writers are Jumani Clarke, Binary; Fiske Nyirongo, Pain By Any Other Name; Lucy Zulu Simuzingili, The Masks; Lydia Ngoma, All To Love; and Mirriam Lusambo, Career Battle.

The Kalemba Prize, in its second year, is a home-grown initiative celebrating Zambian writing. It is funded and administered by Ukusefya WORDS, publishers of the national bestselling book, Insoselo na Mapinda, a collection of more than 700 Bemba proverbs and their meanings translated in English.

The judging panel was constituted by author, Mulenga Kapwepwe, Award winning Poet, Kayo Chingoyi, Sunday Times Editor, Austin Kaluba and Chaired by Edoro.

The 2020 Kalemba Prize will open later this year. Join us on Twitter @KalembaPrize