There’s something magical about holding a book with your story within its pages. It makes you wish all your short stories end up in anthologies you can add to your bookshelf.
There are undeniable advantages to traditionally published physical books:
- They end up in bookstores and public libraries, exposing your work to a wider audience.
- They are salient reminders of your stories (particularly helpful in attracting potential readers).
- It is less likely for a reader to discard/lose/forget a physical copy of a book because of its value and physical nature.
- Physical books make awesome gifts for readers.
- They make presentation of your work to family/friends/co-workers/potential readers/potential collaborators more direct and substantial.
- There are groups of readers who actively seek out physical copies (and prefer them) as opposed to the digital versions.
From the writer groups I joined on social media, I discovered opportunities to get published in anthologies. This post talks a little more about that.
African Ghost Short Stories Anthology Published by Flame Tree Publishing (UK)
My story ‘Sacred Dead’ was published in the anthology, along with 83 other African stories and folktales. The 400+ page book is like an encyclopedia of the African short story. The stories are beautiful, thrilling, and authentic: a must-read for anyone who enjoys African stories.
I couldn’t believe my story was in the same book as some African speculative fiction heavy hitters (I’m talking serial international award winners, published in some of the most prestigious literary magazines, with novels published by imprints of the big 5 publishers, a screenwriter for a Netflix show, etc.)
The physical books themselves were absolutely stunning. I couldn’t get over how beautiful they were when I received my contributor copies. My primary thoughts were they were too gorgeous to read and they would make wonderful gifts. I couldn’t see a true fan skipping them in a bookstore.
My story in the anthology was partly inspired by something I heard as a kid—about a relation who became severely ill after refusing the honour of being possessed by an ancestor. Where I come from, such stories aren’t relayed as fiction; they’re fact. I wanted Sacred Dead to explore what our folklore and urban legends say about death, ghosts, and the afterlife. Our ghosts are balls of flame, our dead watch over the living, and ancestors are sacred.
You can read some of the other authors’ inspirations here.
The book is available to order in the UK here.
Getting Longlisted for the 2024 Afritondo Short Story Prize
Source: Afritondo
I found out about the competition in 2023 when the longlist of that year came out. As someone who was just discovering short story competitions, I thought being on that list was the best thing ever. I swore to submit a short story the following year.
When the time eventually came and I saw the theme of ‘fate’ for the 2024 Prize, I was quite blank. I thought the theme was kinda general and therefore difficult to nail down. At some level, I think every writer takes their characters down a fated path, which is different for every character depending on who they are, where they come from, and the circumstances/obstacles/pressures pushing and guiding them.
It seemed to me like every unpublished story I had completed at the time could fit the theme whilst not doing it justice. I knew that I had to come up with something new and on theme if I ever hoped to get longlisted.
I thought about being obvious, exploring the idea of prophecy or fortune telling. But that wasn’t me or the kind of stuff I wrote. So, I put the competition on the back burner and focused on the master’s degree I was doing at the time.
With three weeks left before the submission deadline, and my last exam scheduled on the same date, I forced myself to make a decision: write something or forgo the competition. That was the wake-up call that finally got the gears of my mind spinning.
I could afford only a few days to write the story, so I had to resort to what I knew. I stopped looking at the dictionary definitions of fate and instead asked what fate (specifically) meant to me.
That simple question unlocked my mind:
- I’m a fatalist of sorts because I’m a determinist. I could incorporate that into the story.
- I wanted a speculative element, so that could be the second act of the story.
- And I would close with some kind of violence (because my mind always goes there hehe).
In classic winging it fashion, I moved from one unlikely scene to another, borrowing heavily from personal experience in the narrative. When I started writing the first scene, I had no idea what the next scene would be. I quite literally made it up as I went, with writing breaks between each scene to figure out the next act.
I wanted the story to be weird, and it ended up being weird. I didn’t have time on my side, but I had my own peculiar way of writing and thinking. At that point, my only goal was getting longlisted and published in the 2024 Afritondo anthology. After I was done with the story, I settled on the title ‘Demon of False Hope’ and submitted the piece.
When I made the longlist, I was obviously excited. Some of the best emerging African writers make the Afritondo Short Story Prize Longlist. As I read the longlisted authors’ profiles, I knew I was in great company.
The anthology of the longlisted stories is coming out later this year. I can’t wait to get my hands on it.