We are now accepting submissions

1. Introduction

Welcome to the 2023 Pemphero Mphande Short Story Competition. This is the third edition of the competition and will run from 27th September, 2023. The first Competition was in 2021 where winner Emmanuel Kaisone, won the first prize of MK200,000 with his story titled “Guilt”. You can read the story here

https://pempheromphande.com/emmanuel-kaison-guilt/. The inaugural ceremony was held at Golden Peacock Hotel where four other winners were announced.

The second edition of the competition was in 2022. The ceremony was held at Mount Soche hotel where Monalisa Nkhata won the first prize of MK1,000,000 with her story titled, “Not My Daughter.” You can read her story here https://pempheromphande.com/not-my-daughter/.

This year the competition has diversified into two further categories to ensure more groups of writers are included at different stages of their career. There will be a Universities and Secondary Schools edition in addition to the main competition.

The main prize for this year’s competition will remain 1 million Kwacha. This year’s competition is Sponsored by Kings Foundation Schools, one of the leading educational institutions in Malawi.

2. Pemphero Mphande Short Story Competition 2023 (Third edition)

Sponsored By Kings Foundation Schools

Instructions:

1. Stories can be on any topic but must reflect Malawian lifestyle, culture and society.

2. Word limit 2,000-3,000 words.

3. Entrants must be Malawians living in Malawi, aged 16-35.

4. Story must be in Century Gothic font, font size 12 and line spacing 1.5.

5. Story must not have been published in any form before, October 30th, 2023.

6. Story must be submitted only as a PDF document.

7. On top the document here has to be the title, name of entrant, age, phone number and email address.

8. Story must be in English and must be the original work of the entrant. Plagiarism or use of AI will lead to automatic disqualification.

9. Only one entry per person will be accepted.

10. Failure to follow any of the above instructions leads to automatic disqualification.

Prizes:

1st Prize- MK1,000,000

2nd Prize- MK300,000

3rd Prize- MK200,000

3. Pemphero Mphande Short Story Competition Universities Edition

 Sponsored By Kings Foundation

Instructions:

1. Word Limit 1,000-2,000

2. Stories can be on any topic but they have to reflect Malawian lifestyle, culture and society.

3. Entrants must be Malawians and undergraduate students enrolled at any accredited institution of Higher Learning, not older than 25.

4. The story must be in Century Gothic font, font size 12 and line spacing 1.5.

5. The story must not have been published in any form before, October 30th, 2023.

6. Story must be submitted only as a PDF document.

7. On top the document here has to be the title, name of entrant, age, phone number and email address.

8. Story must be in English and must be the original work of the entrant. Plagiarism or use of AI will lead to automatic disqualification.

9. Only one entry per person will be accepted.

10. Failure to follow any of the above instructions leads to automatic disqualification.

Prizes:

1st Prize- MK400,000

2nd Prize- MK300,000

3rd Prize- MK100,000

4. Pemphero Mphande Short Story Competition Secondary School Edition

 Sponsored By Kings Foundation

Instructions-

1. Word Limit 500-1,000

2. Stories can be on any topic but they have to reflect Malawian lifestyle, culture and society.

3. Entrants must be Malawians and students enrolled at any secondary school not older than 20.

4. The story must be in Century Gothic font, font size 12 and line spacing 1.5.

5. The story must not have been published in any form before, October 30th, 2023

6. Story must be submitted only as a PDF document.

7. On top the document here has to be the title, name of entrant, age, phone number and email address.

8. Story must be in English and must be the original work of the entrant. Plagiarism or use of AI will lead to automatic disqualification.

9. Only one entry per person will be accepted.

10. Failure to follow any of the above instructions leads to automatic disqualification.

Prizes:

1st Prize- Scholarship to Kings Foundation Schools

2nd Prize- MK300,000

3rd Prize- MK100,0000

5. Timelines

The competition will open on 27th September, 2023. On 2nd October, 2023 a call for judges will be announced. On 30th October, 2023 judges will be announced. On

The Competition will close on 31st October, 2023. Nominees will be announced on 4th December.  Ceremony to award winners will be held on Friday, 15th December.

6. How to Enter the Competition

Please check eligibility. If you are eligible click on http://stories.pempheromphande.com to submit  your story. Emails will not be accepted. Deadline for submissions is 31st October, 12:00 midnight, local time.