Brittle Paper, an online literary site is calling for nomination of works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and essays or think pieces for consideration by its editorial team for the 2018 edition of its Awards.

The Brittle Paper Awards was "established in 2017 to mark its seventh anniversary", and which from all indication seems to want to continue it as an annual reward for African literati. 

On the Awards it wrote, "It is our way of highlighting the best pieces of online writing by Africans—an avenue for showcasing the range of thinking, stylistic innovation, and exploration of subjects happening on the literary scene. It is also an opportunity to celebrate writers who are leveraging digital technology for creative work, and of course the platforms that publish their work.

"The Awards come in five categories: the Brittle Paper Award for Fiction ($200), the Brittle Paper Award for Poetry ($200), the Brittle Paper Award for Creative Nonfiction ($200), the Brittle Paper Award for Essays/Think Pieces ($200), and the Brittle Paper Anniversary Award ($300) exclusively for works on our blog.

"The inaugural edition of the Award shortlisted 48 pieces of writing across the five categories—10 for Fiction and Poetry, 8 for Creative Nonfiction and Essays/Think Pieces, and 12 for the Anniversary Award. The selections were made based on quality, significance, and impact. For the fiction, poetry, nonfiction and essays/think pieces categories, we considered works published between 1 January, 2016 and 31 July, 2017. For our anniversary award, our consideration was limited to between August 1, 2016 and July 31, 2017."

About the winning 2017 entries, it said, "The Brittle Paper Award for Essays/Think Pieces went to South Africa’s Sisonke Msimang for “All Your Faves Are Problematic: A Brief History of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Stanning, and the Trap of #BlackGirlMagic,” in Africa Is a Country. The Brittle Paper Award for Poetry went to Nigeria’s JK Anowe for “Credo to Leave,” in Expound. The Brittle Paper Award for Creative Nonfiction went to Liberia’s Hawa Jande Golakai for “Fugee,” in Granta. The Brittle Paper Award for Fiction went to South Africa’s Megan Ross for “Farang,” in Short Story Day Africa’s Migrations: New Short Fiction from Africa. The Brittle Paper Anniversary Award went to Nigeria’s Chibuihe Obi for “We’re Queer, We’re Here.”

"While for the inaugural Awards, our editors depended on their knowledge as curators of African literary production, knowledge from monitoring the African literary scene closely, and from observing how much impact these writings have had on individuals and online communities, for this second year, we are inviting nominations as well so as to not miss out on anything remarkable."

Read the pieces on the 2017 Winners & Shortlists