The 2026 AKO Caine Prize is currently accepting submissions. This award honours the memory of the late Sir Michael Caine, who previously served as Chairman of Booker plc, led the ‘Africa 95’ arts festival across Europe and Africa in 1995, and chaired the Booker Prize management committee for almost 25 years. Following his passing, his friends and colleagues established this annual £10,000 prize in his honour.
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Criteria for Eligibility
- Stories must have been published within five years before the submission deadline. For the 2026 award cycle, only works published from 27th February 2021 through 27th February 2026 will be considered by judges.
- Submissions must contain between 3,000 and 10,000 words.
- Publisher submission is required. Eligible publishers include those of print and digital books, literary journals, magazines, and arts-focused websites. Authors cannot submit their own work through a publishing entity they operate.
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- Authors must be at least 18 years old when the submission is made.
- Works that are self-published or unpublished are not accepted.
- Publishers may submit multiple stories, but are limited to one submission per individual author.
- Each story may be submitted only once for Caine Prize consideration. Previously submitted stories, including those not shortlisted, cannot be resubmitted.
- Ineligible genres include: novels, children’s literature, non-fiction, academic papers, theatrical works, poetry, autobiographical/biographical writing, and any non-fictional short story content.
- All submissions must indicate the author’s country of origin in Africa and provide the story’s word count.
Submission Deadline: 27 February 2026 at 12:00 GMT
Click HERE to apply.
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