On the 28th 26th April, Zanele returned home from Seoul, South Korea to discover that all her work between 2008 and 2012 stored on 20 hard drives and including backups had been stolen on the 20th. The thieves also stole her cameras, lens, memory sticks and laptops. There are no words to describe Zanele’s feelings at this time as an entire original archive of Black queer lesbian history has been destroyed and that impacts on all of us – makes invisible what Zanele has worked so hard to make visible and speak of through her photography.
I”ve lost all the work I produced from 2008 – 2012. Also backups were stolen. I thought of the day I spoke with another friend about alternative storage. Now it is too late. I feel like a breathing zombie right now. I don’t even know where to start. I’m wasted. I’ve sent out a note to friends to tell them about the incident.
The person/s got access to the flat via the toilet window, broke the burglar guard and got away with my cameras, lenses, memory cards and external hard drives, laptop, cellphones… Whoever ransacked the place got away with more than 20 external hard drives with the most valuable content I’ve ever produced
I am hoping that a few of my good friends are willing to go to pawn shops or to other places where this type of equipment is sold. I do not even want to know who the thief is.
An award winning photographer who has devoted her working life to documenting the lives of black lesbians has had five years worth of her work stolen
Laura Reynolds
Zanele Muholi, described by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa as "one of the country's foremost artists", had more than 20 external hard drives stolen from her flat in Vredehoek, Cape Town on April 20.
The hard drives contain stills and video footage, including photos from the funerals of victims of homophobic hate crimes. It is thought that the burglars were targeting Muholi's work, as little else was taken from her flat, and back up hard drives were also taken.
Muholi's partner Liesl Theron, with whom she shares the flat, said that her possessions were left untouched, except for a laptop which was stolen, further fuelling belief that Muholi was the intended target of the crime.
The work taken had been captured across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Malawi, according to the Cape Times. Also stolen was work due to be shown at an exhibition in July, which Muholi believes she will now have to cancel.
Despite the volume of work stolen and the imminence of the planned exhibition, Muholi's plight has been largely ignored by the media. It is believed that the lack of publicity is due to the nature of her work, which shows a different side to the black lesbian community than that usually represented in the mainstream media.
"I'm not myself. I can't even sleep at night since I've heard about the burglary," the devastated Muholi told DIVA. She has appealed for anyone who knows the whereabouts of the hard drives to return them.
Queer photographer Del LaGrace Volcano said of the theft; "Zanele's work is, in my not so humble opinion, some of the most important work being produced, not just in Africa, but anywhere. I consider her a dear friend and mourn the loss of her archive as if it were my own."
Zanele's supporters are fundraising to help her replace the stolen equipment. Donations can be made online at IndieGoGo.
The investigation into the burglary is ongoing, according to a police spokesperson.
The Biafra war is one of many tragic emblems of colonialism. What you had in the naming of “Nigeria” by British writer and journalist Flora Shaw was the amalgamation of British resources. If attention was given to the people of Nigeria it was to further fracture tribal relations and maintain systemic disunity and distrust. The Biafra War was born out of this systemic disunity and distrust. During the war the British government heavily armed the Nigerian Army with the objective of keeping the Nigerian Republic in tact. The French government supplied Biafra with light weapons in order to support the break up of Nigeria - whose potential dwarfed that of France’s Francophone states. The blockade imposed by the Nigerian government meant that Biafrans did not have adequate weapons to fight the war or the food to survive. Despite the many tragedies that engulfed Biafra, the Civil War endured for three years as Igbo people fought on in pursuit of independence from the Nigerian federation. Hypocritically, the British government supplied weapons to the Nigerian government to annihilate Biafra, whilst British relief organisations supplied famine relief to Biafra and British journalists branded and packaged the humanitarian crisis for foreign consumption.
In July 1966 northern officers and army units staged a coup. The Muslim officers named thirty-one-year- old Lieutenant Colonel (later Major General) Yakubu "Jack" Gowon, a Christian from a small ethnic group (the Anga) in the middle belt, as a compromise candidate to head the Federal Military Government (FMG). A young and relatively obscure officer serving as army chief of staff, Gowon had not been involved in the coup, but he enjoyed wide support among northern troops who subsequently insisted that he be given a position in the ruling body.
Throughout the remainder of 1966 and into 1967, the FMG sought to convene a constituent assembly for revision of the constitution that might enable an early return to civilian rule. Nonetheless, the tempo of violence increased. In September attacks on Igbo in the north were renewed with unprecedented ferocity, stirred up by Muslim traditionalists with the connivance, Eastern Region leaders believed, of northern political leaders. The army was sharply divided along regional lines. Reports circulated that troops from the Northern Region had participated in the mayhem. The estimated number of deaths ranged as high as 30,000, although the figure was probably closer to 8,000 to 10,000. More than 1 million Igbo returned to the Eastern Region. In retaliation, some northerners were massacred in Port Harcourt and other eastern cities, and a counterexodus of non-Igbo was under way.
The Eastern Region's military governor, Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, was under pressure from Igbo officers to assert greater independence from the FMG. Indeed, the eastern military government refused to recognize Gowon's legitimacy on the ground that he was not the most senior officer in the chain of command. Some of Ojukwu's colleagues questioned whether the country could be reunited amicably after the outrages committed against the Igbo in the Northern Region. Ironically, many responsible easterners who had advocated a unitary state now called for looser ties with the other regions.
The military commanders and governors, including Ojukwu, met in Lagos to consider solutions to the regional strife. But they failed to reach a settlement, despite concessions offered by the northerners, because it proved impossible to guarantee the security of Igbo outside the Eastern Region. The military conferees reached a consensus only in the contempt they expressed for civilian politicians. Fearing for his safety, Ojukwu refused invitations to attend subsequent meetings in Lagos.
In January 1967, the military leaders and senior police officials met at Aburi, Ghana, at the invitation of the Ghanaian military government. By now the Eastern Region was threatening secession. In a last-minute effort to hold Nigeria together, the military reached an accord that provided for a loose confederation of regions. The federal civil service vigorously opposed the Aburi Agreement, however. Awolowo, regrouping his supporters, demanded the removal of all northern troops garrisoned in the Western Region and warned that if the Eastern Region left the federation, the Western Region would follow. The FMG agreed to the troop withdrawal.
In May Gowon issued a decree implementing the Aburi Agreement. Even the Northern Region leaders, who had been the first to threaten secession, now favored the formation of a multistate federation. Meanwhile, the military governor of the Midwestern Region announced that his region must be considered neutral in the event of civil war.
The Ojukwu government rejected the plan for reconciliation and made known its intention to retain all revenues collected in the Eastern Region in reparation for the cost of resettling Igbo refugees. The eastern leaders had reached the point of ruptive in their relations with Lagos and the rest of Nigeria. Despite offers made by the FMG that met many of Ojukwu's demands, the Eastern Region Consultative Assembly voted May 26 to secede from Nigeria. In Lagos Gowon proclaimed a state of emergency and unveiled plans for abolition of the regions and for redivision of the country into twelve states. This provision broke up the Northern Region, undermining the possibility of continued northern domination and offering a major concession to the Eastern Region. It was also a strategic move, which won over eastern minorities and deprived the rebellious Igbo heartland of its control over the oil fields and access to the sea. Gowon also appointed prominent civilians, including Awolowo, as commissioners in the federal and new state governments, thus broadening his political support.
On May 30, Ojukwu answered the federal decree with the proclamation of the independent Republic of Biafra, named after the Bight of Biafra. He cited as the principal cause for this action the Nigerian government's inability to protect the lives of easterners and suggested its culpability in genocide, depicting secession as a measure taken reluctantly after all efforts to safeguard the Igbo people in other regions had failed.
Initially the FMG launched "police measures" to restore the authority of Lagos in the Eastern Region. Army units attempted to advance into secessionist territory in July, but rebel troops easily stopped them. The Biafrans retaliated with a surprise thrust into the Midwestern Region, where they seized strategic points. However, effective control of the delta region remained under federal control despite several rebel attempts to take the non-Igbo area. The federal government began to mobilize large numbers of recruits to supplement its 10,000-member army.
By the end of 1967, federal forces had regained the Midwestern Region and secured the delta region, which was reorganized as the Rivers State and Southeastern State, cutting off Biafra from direct access to the sea. But a proposed invasion of the rebel-held territory, now confined to the Igbo heartland, stalled along the stiffened Biafran defense perimeter.
A stalemate developed as federal attacks on key towns broke down in the face of stubborn Biafran resistance. Ill-armed and trained under fire, rebel troops nonetheless had the benefit of superior leadership and superb morale. Although vastly outnumbered and outgunned, the Biafrans probed weak points in the federal lines, making lightning tactical gains, cutting off and encircling advancing columns, and launching commando raids behind federal lines. Biafran strikes across the Niger managed to pin down large concentrations of federal troops on the west bank.
In September 1968, Owerri was captured by federal troops advancing from the south, and early in 1969 the federal army, expanded to nearly 250,000 men, opened three fronts in what Gowon touted as the "final offensive." Although federal forces flanked the rebels by crossing the Niger at Onitsha, they failed to break through. The Biafrans subsequently retook Owerri in fierce fighting and threatened to push on to Port Harcourt until thwarted by a renewed federal offensive in the south. That offensive tightened the noose around the rebel enclave without choking it into submission.
Biafran propaganda, which stressed the threat of genocide to the Igbo people, was extremely effective abroad in winning sympathy for the secessionist movement. Food and medical supplies were scarce in Biafra. Humanitarian aid, as well as arms and munitions, reached the embattled region from international relief organizations and from private and religious groups in the United States and Western Europe by way of nighttime airlifts over the war zone. The bulk of Biafra's military supplies was purchased on the international arms market with unofficial assistance provided by France through former West African colonies. In one of the most dramatic episodes of the civil war, Carl Gustav von Rosen, a Swedish count who at one time commanded the Ethiopian air force, and several other Swedish pilots flew five jet trainers modified for combat in successful strikes against Nigerian military installations.
Biafra's independence was recognized by Tanzania, Zambia, Gabon, and the Ivory Coast, but it was compromised in the eyes of most African states by the approval of South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, and Portugal. Britain extended diplomatic support and limited military assistance to the federal government. The Soviet Union became an important source of military equipment for Nigeria. Modern Soviet-built warplanes, flown by Egyptian and British pilots, interdicted supply flights and inflicted heavy casualties during raids on Biafran urban centers. In line with its policy of noninvolvement, the United States prohibited the sale of military goods to either side while continuing to recognize the FMG.
In October 1969, Ojukwu appealed for United Nations (UN) mediation for a cease-fire as a prelude to peace negotiations. But the federal government insisted on Biafra's surrender, and Gowon observed that "rebel leaders had made it clear that this is a fight to the finish and that no concession will ever satisfy them." In December federal forces opened a four-pronged offensive, involving 120,000 troops, that sliced Biafra in half. When Owerri fell on January 6, 1970, Biafran resistance collapsed. Ojukwu fled to the Ivory Coast, leaving his chief of staff, Philip Effiong, behind as "officer administering the government." Effiong called for an immediate, unconditional cease-fire January 12 and submitted to the authority of the federal government at ceremonies in Lagos.
Estimates in the former Eastern Region of the number of dead from hostilities, disease, and starvation during the thirty-month civil war are estimated at between 1 million and 3 million. The end of the fighting found more than 3 million Igbo refugees crowded into a 2,500-square-kilometer enclave. Prospects for the survival of many of them and for the future of the region were dim. There were severe shortages of food, medicine, clothing, and housing. The economy of the region was shattered. Cities were in ruins; schools, hospitals, utilities, and transportation facilities were destroyed or inoperative. Overseas groups instituted a major relief effort, but the FMG insisted on directing all assistance and recovery operations and barred some agencies that had supplied aid to Biafra.
Because charges of genocide had fueled international sympathy for Biafra, the FMG allowed a team of international experts to observe the surrender and to look for evidence. Subsequently, the observers testified that they found no evidence of genocide or systematic destruction of property, although there was considerable evidence of famine and death as a result of the war. Furthermore, under Gowon's close supervision, the federal government ensured that Igbo civilians would not be treated as defeated enemies. A program was launched to reintegrate the Biafran rebels into a unified Nigeria. A number of public officials who had "actively counselled, aided, or abetted" secession were dismissed, but a clear distinction was made between them and those who had simply carried out their duties. Igbo personnel soon were being reenlisted in the federal armed forces. There were no trials and few people were imprisoned. Ojukwu, in exile, was made the scapegoat, but efforts to have him extradited failed.
An Igbo official, Ukapi "Tony" Asika, was named administrator of the new East Central State, comprising the Igbo heartland. Asika had remained loyal to the federal government during the civil war, but as a further act of conciliation, his all-Igbo cabinet included members who had served under the secessionist regime. Asika was unpopular with many Igbo, who considered him a traitor, and his administration was characterized as inept and corrupt. In three years under his direction, however, the state government achieved the rehabilitation of 70 percent of the industry incapacitated during the war. The federal government granted funds to cover the state's operating expenses for an interim period, and much of the war damage was repaired. Social services and public utilities slowly were reinstituted, although not to the prewar levels.
This year we were on scene for the 2012 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The festival featured many amazing performances, below are but a couple (out of many) of our favorites.
Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue:
The “supafunkrock” sound of Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue was most definitely a highlight at this year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. NOLA born Troy Andrews and his band, Orleans Avenue, are a favorite and major attraction at the Festival. The massive crowd that gathered at The Fairgrounds on Sunday April 29th for the performance was true testament to the popularity and acclaim TSOA has garnered throughout their story.
Living up to the hype of their legendary Jazz Fest performances, Andrews and company have fashioned a recipe that marries innovative sound with sheer showmanship. First you take Andrews’ masterful trombone and trumpet skills combined with his classic soulful voice, stir in the jazzy sounds of saxophonists Dan Oestricher and Tim McFatter, blend in face melting guitar riffs from Pete Murano, throw in an addicting bass line from Mike Ballard, and last but definitely not least, throw in a hip-hop-esque beat from drummer Joey Pebbles and percussionist Dwayne Williams. The outcome is the groundbreaking Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue.
Highlights from the show were “The Craziest Things” and “Do to Me” from TSOA’s acclaimed album For True, not to mention the mind blowing performance of Ray Charles’ “I’ve Got a Women,” which found the band adding some extra funkiness to Ray’s classic anthem. Other memorable moments from TSOA’s 2012 Jazz Fest performance were Sax favorite Dave Koz, who joined the ensemble for a smooth and funky solo, a battle of the brass, if you will, between Andrews and his brass playing band mates and finally, probably the coolest moment of the show, TSOA switched it up and played each other’s instruments, the standout was Andrews drum solo finale. Continuing to make New Orleans proud, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue are proof that New Orleans is one of the most pioneering cities in music.
If you havn’t seen Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue live, I would highly recommend putting the 2013 NOLA Jazz Fest on your “To Do” list.
Janelle Monae:
As many have come to learn, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is not held only to celebrate the understood and classic form of Jazz, but rather to embrace the old and new school of this timeless genre. I would definitely place Janelle Monae in the new school. For those unfamiliar with Miss Monae’s sound, it’s a seamless blend of classic R&B, alternative-pop, funk, and the jazz vocals of greats like Fitzgerald.
Sunday April 29th at Jazz Fest was not to be missed. Trombone Shorty, Bruce Springsteen, and Al Green were all on the bill. On a day with such a heady roster, Janelle Monae fit right in, and her performance was nothing shy of genius.
In fabulous dramatic fashion the show began with Janelle’s Master of Ceremonies decked out in the Monae camp’s signature Tuxedo/Formal attire, top hat and all, welcoming the crowd with excitement and fervor. After the anticipation of the crowd had reached it’s limit, with the help of “ Suite II Overture,” Janelle appeared in equally dramatic fashion, cape and all. Her presence immediately stirred the crowd and she was greeted with a humbling applause, definitely a show of appreciation for her originality and innovation. In a business where these traits have become sparse and embracing individuality is rare, Janelle is a breath of fresh air.
Janelle’s performance at Jazz Fest was remarkable. It was a creatively crafted, complete with choreographed ’50s inspired dance routines and theatrical effects that included creepy characters sporting masquerade masks and long black robes stealthily moving on and off the stage. Janelle is known for creating a story during her shows, and this was no exception. It was exciting to see each piece unfold.
Highlights of her performance included “Faster,” and “Locked Inside,” both from her critically acclaimed album The ArchAndroid. Other memorable moments included an amazing and charming rendition of Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile,” and a killer version of Prince’s “Take Me With You,” from the unforgettable and groundbreaking Purple Rain soundtrack. It was cool to hear the crowd go crazy for this one. The brightest moment of the show was without a doubt Janelle’s performance of “Tightrope.” She turned the crowd out and left it all on stage. Truly unbelievable.
Janelle is a true artist, in ever sense of the word. Her showmanship combines James Brown’s dance moves and vigor, Prince’s androgyny and overt funkiness, and the soul and singing chops of Tina and Erykah. One of the best performances at Jazz Fest, period. Let’s just say my mind was blown, and isn’t that what it’s all about.
It's almost impossible to single out the defining moment in a career as rich and varied as Stevie Wonder's. Starting out as the beloved and exasperating mascot of "Hitsville U.S.A." (a.k.a. Motown), Wonder matured with his generation and towered over the music of the 1970s with a series of barrier-transcending albums as brilliant and penetrating as anything in the history of rock or soul. By the time he spearheaded the successful drive to have Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday declared a national holiday, Wonder had surpassed the status of musical superstar and established himself, for better and sometimes worse, as a national icon.
There's simply too much there to boil down to a defining moment, but there's no question about the one that made the rest possible. It was 1963 and the youthful fireball was part of an all-star Motown revue at the Regal Theater in the heart of Chicago's South Side. Already a popular live performer but without a hit record, the then "Little" Stevie Wonder was bringing his set to a close with a call-and-response rave-up modeled loosely on Ray Charles' "What'd I Say." As the MC called for a final round of applause and Mary Wells' back-up band took the stage, Stevie was preparing to embark on the path to the soul pantheon. Creeping back out of the wings, he picked up right where he'd left off, lifting the audience to new heights of good-humored ecstasy. If the recording engineer hadn't picked up the new band's frantic scramble to rescue the situation-you can hear bass player Larry Moses shouting "what key? what key?"-it would be tempting to pass the whole thing off as a bit of pre-packaged show-biz shtick invented by the same Motown PR crew that had previously floated an (utterly unfounded) rumor that Stevie was Brother Ray's illegitimate son. Once Berry Gordy heard the recording, chaos and all, Motown rushed "Fingertips, Part 2" to its network of D.J.s. It wasn't long before Stevie became the first artist to hold down the number one slots on the Hot 100, R&B and Album charts (for Little Stevie Wonder/ The 12 Year Old Genius/ Recorded Live).
Never mind that Stevie was 13 at the time. It was just another example of the mix of myth and reality, careful commercial calculation and untrammeled creativity that continues to define the work of the man born on May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan with the name of Steveland Morris. Born prematurely and blinded by an excess of oxygen in his incubator, Stevie faced an outlook that was bleak, even by the standards of black America in the final years before theBrown vs. Board of Education decision put an end to legal segregation. Moving Stevie and his siblings-there would eventually be four brothers and one sister-to Detroit's east side ghetto, Stevie's mother Lula Hardaway was fiercely committed to her son's well-being, but had a hard time making ends meet. Although he often accompanied his brothers on their escapades in the outside world, Stevie spent a lot of time listening to the radio and took every opportunity to explore whatever musical instrument crossed his path: a neighbor's piano, a toy harmonica given to him by a relative, a set of cardboard drums. By the time he was ten, Stevie and a neighborhood friend were performing on street corners and doorsteps in the ghetto. Alerted to the child prodigy by Ronnie White of the Miracles, Gordy auditioned Wonder. While it's difficult to disentangle the actual story from the later mythic versions-if everyone who claims to have been there had actually been present, Gordy would have had to rent Tiger Stadium for the event-, it didn't take long for Motown to offer Stevie a contract.
Negotiating a deal with the Board of Education which put Stevie's education under the supervision of dedicated tutorTed Hull and the Michigan School for the Blind, Motown set about the difficult task of figuring out what to do with a talent that, tempting allusions to Ray Charles aside, was really one of a kind. While Stevie supplemented his formal education with a series of de facto grad studies in music with Hitsville's legendary house band, Funk Brothers-he was especially closer to drummer Benny Benjamin-, Motown churned out a series of uninspired and uninspiring singles, most of which failed to crack the charts at all. "Fingertips, Part 2" affirmed Gordy's belief that Stevie had a real future, but it took almost three years for Stevie to return to the charts with "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" in early 1966. For the rest of the decade, Stevie moved effortlessly between blazing funk, meditative social commentary, and heart-wrenching ballads with a string of hits topped by "Blowin' in the Wind" (1966); "I Was Made to Love Her" and "I'm Wondering" (1967); "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day" and "For Once in My Life" (1968); "My Cherie Amour" (1969); and "Signed Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours" and "Heaven Help Us All" (1970).
While Stevie was clearly established as a major star, no one, especially Berry Gordy, was prepared for what happened next. Taking advantage of the fact that he had the legal right to disavow contracts signed for him while he was a minor, Wonder stunned Motown by declaring himself a free agent immediately after his 21st birthday. Taking his time to think things through and hiring ace agent Johanen Vigoda to negotiate his deal, Wonder eventually re-signed with Gordy. The new contract gave him a degree of financial and creative independence rivaled only by Ray Charles' deal with ABC.
What followed was a truly magnificent outpouring of music, personal, political and spiritual in more or less equal measures. Aware of the shift from singles to albums which had followed on the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Wonder kicked off his greatest period with Music of My Mind and Talking Book (both 1972). Innervisions (1973), organized around the blues realities of "Living for the City" and the gospel aspirations of "Higher Ground" immediately moved to a fully-deserved place near the top of list of the greatest soul albums of all time, in 1973. Recovering from a near-fatal car accident while on tour in August, 1973, Wonder re-emerged with a heightened sense of his spiritual mission. Kicked into high gear by the number one single "You Haven't Done Nothing," Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) lived up to the high standards ofInnervisions and the two album plus EP masterpiece Songs in the Key of Life(1976) surpassed them all with a dizzying soundscape highlighted by "Sir Duke," "I Wish" and "As," an amazing montage of love ballad and funk sermon. Paul Simon summed up Wonder's stature best when he began his 1975 Grammy acceptance speech by thanking Stevie for "not making an album this year."
Songs in the Key of Life remains the high water mark of Wonder's career, but he continued to make excellent music, ranging from the new age explorations ofJourney Through the Secret Life of Plants (1979) and the reggae-tinged fire ofHotter than July (1980) to the greatly underrated mid-90s album Conversation Peace (1995). Even the relatively aimless 80s productions The Woman in Redsoundtrack (1984), In Square Circle (1985) and Characters (1987) include stellar cuts like "Skeletons" and "Part-Time Lover." Increasingly, Wonder devoted his time and energy to charitable causes; politicians sought his advice and approval; and the time between albums grew longer and longer. It had been years since he had engaged in the kind of open call and response with his audience that fueled the fires of "Fingertips, Part 2" and "Uptight" and soul music afficionados sometimes wondered if something had been lost as Stevie ascended the staircase to the pantheon. It shouldn't surprise anyone if Mr. Wonder proves them wrong.
By Craig Werner
[Editor's Note: We're honored that this biography was written specifically for SoulTracks by noted soul music writer and historian, Craig Werner. Professor Werner is the writer of a number of important books on Soul Music and society, including "Higher Ground," a biography of Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Curtis Mayfield, which was recently re-published in paperback form. It is an important historical resource for every Soul Music lover. ]
More than fifty short-story collections have appeared in the Flannery O'Connor Award series, which was established to encourage gifted emerging writers by bringing their work to a national readership. The first prize-winning book was published in 1983; the award has since become an important proving ground for writers and a showcase for the talent and promise that have brought about a resurgence in the short story as a genre. Winners are selected through an annual competition that attracts as many as three hundred manuscripts.
Winners of the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction include such widely read authors as Ha Jin, Antonya Nelson, Rita Ciresi, and Mary Hood.
New in 2012: We will only be accepting electronic submissions to the Flannery O’Connor Short Fiction this year. See details below.
Dates for submission: Manuscripts may be submitted between 9:00 a.m. on April 2 and 9:00 a.m. on June 1. Winners will be announced by the end of August.
Tech support for using the submissions manager is available at 1-406-480-6274. The $25 entry fee can be paid online via credit card or PayPal.
Selection process: Each of five contest judges reads approximately one-fifth of the manuscripts submitted to the competition, with a sixth judge available if needed based on the total number of submissions. Judges select seven to ten finalists each; the pool of finalist manuscripts is read by series editor Nancy Zafris, who makes the final selection of two winning manuscripts. Authors of winning manuscripts receive a cash award of $1,000, and their collections are subsequently published by the University of Georgia Press under a standard book contract.
Eligibility: The competition is open to writers in English, whether published or unpublished. Writers must be residents of North America.
Manuscript Guidelines
Manuscripts should be 40,000-75,000 words in length.
The award recognizes outstanding collections of short fiction. Collections may include long stories or novellas (est. length of a novella is 50-150 pages). However, novels or single novellas will not be considered.
Please be sure manuscript pages are numbered.
Please include a table of contents.
Please use a standard, easy-to-read font such as Times New Roman in twelve-point size.
Stories included in the submission may have appeared previously in magazines or anthologies but may not have been previously published in a book-length collection of the author’s own work.
Authors may submit more than one manuscript to the competition for consideration as long as no material is duplicated between submissions. Each submission will require a separate entry fee.
Manuscripts under consideration for this competition may be submitted elsewhere at the same time. Please withdraw your manuscript if it is accepted by another publisher and should no longer be considered for the Flannery O’Connor Short Fiction Award competition. Withdrawal can be completed via the submissions manager website. Entry fees are not refundable.
Blind review: The intent of this contest is that manuscripts will be considered on the merits of the fiction and that judges will not be aware of the names or publication records of the authors.
Please do not include your name on the pages of the manuscript—only in the form boxes of the electronic submission manager. The first page of the manuscript should include the title of the collection only.
Please do not include a list of acknowledgments crediting where stories have been published.
Judges who recognize work will recuse themselves, and the submission will be reassigned to a different judge.
Confirmation of receipt and notification: You should receive an e-mail confirmation immediately after submission. An announcement of winners and finalists will be sent to all entrants via e-mail by the end of August.
If you have any questions or concerns other than technical issues with the submissions manager, please contact us via e-mail at press@ugapress.uga.edu. The press will not accept phone calls regarding the Flannery O’Connor Award.
Statement of Integrity: The University of Georgia is thoroughly committed to academic integrity in all of its endeavors, and the University of Georgia Press adheres to all University of Georgia policies and procedures. To help ensure the integrity of the competition, manuscripts are judged through a blind review process. Judges in the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction competition are instructed to avoid conflicts of interest of all kinds.
Elixir Press is sponsoring a fiction contest open to all writers writing in English. Both short story collections and novels are eligible. The prize will be $2000, publication by Elixir Press, and 25 copies of the book.
Manuscripts should be typed on one side of the page and on standard paper.
Send a business size SASE for reply only; manuscripts cannot be returned. An SAS postcard for receipt of manuscript is optional.
Please use a 12 to 14 point font.
Do not send the only copy of your manuscript.
Do not send biographical material, photographs, CDs, videos, or illustrations.
Enclose a cover sheet stating the name of the manuscript and the author's name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number and a cover sheet with the title alone.
Manuscripts must be double-spaced, paginated, and include a table of contents, if appropriate, and an acknowledgments page, if appropriate.
Simultaneous submissions are welcome, so long as Elixir is notified immediately if a manuscript is accepted elsewhere.
Manuscripts should be 120 pages to 500 pages in length.
Please secure your manuscript with either a rubber band or file folder. Do not otherwise bind your manuscript.
Friends, students, and former students of the judge or the editorial staff of Elixir Press are ineligible to enter.
The entry fee is $40 The postmark deadline for the contest is May 31, 2012. Submit to: Elixir Press Fiction Award P.O. Box 27029 Denver, CO 80227
Build Africa works exclusively in rural areas of Uganda and Kenya to help young people escape poverty through education and income generation. Their vision is for every young person in Africa to fulfil their potential and to make a difference to their community.
The first Excel for Charity competition in aid of Build Africa was held in 2010. That year, we raised a total of £391.70 for the charity. This amount included £131.70 - a third of the net entry fees and £260.00 total prize money won but donated to the charity by Gabriel Griffin, Jeni Williams and Margaret Eddershaw.
BUILD AFRICA POETRY COMPETITION 2012
For previously unpublished poems in English Language on any subject up to 50 lines long. Your poems must not have been posted to a publicly accessible website, or blog, and must not be under consideration for publication, or accepted for publication elsewhere.
First Prize: £150.00 ($238.00)
Second Prize: £75.00 ($119.00)
Third Prize: £40.00 ($63.00)
High Commendation Prizes: 2 x £10.00 ($16.00)
Publication: All prize winners will be published in the Excel for Charity News Blog (Online).
Entry Fees: 1 Poem (£4.00/$6.50), 2 Poems (£7.50/$12.00), 3 Poems (£10.50/$17.00), 4 Poems (£12.50/$20.00), 5 Poems (£14.00/$22.50). A third of net entry fees goes to Build Africa.
The Judge: Afam Akeh author of Stolen Moments.
Competition Administration: Eastern Light EPM International - Organisers of Excel for Charity.
I had the privilege of seeing The Story of Lover’s Rock this week at the London Docklands Museum. Director and pioneer of Black British cinema Menelik Shabazz was in attendance to introduce his documentary and for a post-film Q&A session. The Story of Lover’s Rock chronicles the development of the Reggae sub-genre from its inception in the UK, its influence on British pop culture and its global impact. What I enjoyed most about the film is that it does not shy away from the hostile social and political conditions experienced by Black Britain in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Instead the film contextualises the role played by Lover’s Rock in the Black community and its wider appeal. Lover’s Rock was a distinctly British sound, encapsulating love, style and the dreams of young Black Britain. It served as a vehicle for self-identification and resistance for the first generation of British Jamaican’s growing up in England. Against the backdrop of racist attacks such as the 1981 New Cross house fire that killed thirteen people, Lover’s Rock was refuge and healing.
Shabazz spoke openly and sincerely about his journey as a filmmaker and told us that one of his motivations for creating the film was his realisation that there is a vacuum in the knowledge of young people growing up in Britain of what older generations have contributed to British society. He added that his desire is to tell stories that challenge negative stereotypes and tell the diverse stories of African and Caribbean people which is why he sought independent financing for the film despite the challenges. I commend Mr Shabazz for this film as he has helped curate a little bit of Black British history that is rarely recognised by the national media and placed it within the greater narrative of British history.
Queen Underwood will be blogging for espnW throughout her training for this summer's London Olympics. Check back in March for more from Queen. You can also read espnW's previous profile on Queen's personal journey here.
I remember the moment I heard women's boxing was going to be added to the Olympics. It was 2009, and I was working in construction at the time, helping to build a hospital. I was so excited because before the announcement I had decided if boxing was not going to be added to the 2012 Games, I might as well just turn pro. I had already reached the highest level I could by becoming a national champion. Hearing the announcement and knowing it was going to be an Olympic sport gave me a reason to stay as an amateur and strive for the new highest level. It feels good to be somewhere female boxers were not allowed before.
To me, the U.S. trials are a hurdle. They are something I have to get past. I have conditioned my body, and I am all geared up now. I am just ready. This has been my longest training camp leading into a fight, so I am excited to see my progression. My days have started around 6 a.m. so that I can begin training, and they have lasted nearly 12 hours. I start my day with running, followed by strength and conditioning work, and then I do my boxing and sparring in the afternoon. I have worked hard and have waited a long time for this to happen. I am excited it is finally here.
AP Photo/The Spokesman Review, Dan PelleTo earn an Olympic spot, Queen Underwood must win her division at the Olympic trials, then place in the top eight at worlds later this year.
The trials are held near my hometown of Seattle, so there is added excitement but also added distractions. I have fought in a lot of fights where I did not have family or friends in the crowd -- just team members, coaches, the normal boxing community -- so this is going to be different. People are coming on different days, but I should have at least 15 or 20 people I know in the stands. It is going to be exciting, but I know how to stick to my own routine as far as not getting caught up in hanging out with family and friends. I am there to fight, and they will be able to see me afterward. I am not trying to hurt anyone's feelings, but I am out there to do one thing and one thing only. After I am done with that, we can all celebrate.
I always have a game plan before I begin my fights. It's private, though -- I like to do all of my talking in the ring. But once I step into that ring, there are no heavy thoughts. I repeat my game plan to myself and try to stay relaxed. Confidence is also a huge part of being successful. Before I step into the ring, I tell myself I am going to win. That is something you have to practice along with your boxing training. You cannot decide right before the fight that you are the best. Your mental game is something you have to work on as much as your physical training.
In order to qualify for the Olympics, I have to finish No. 1 at the trials in my weight division to advance to worlds. That is nothing new; I have been No. 1 for five years in a row now. Then at worlds, I have to place in the top eight to secure a spot in the Olympics. I have confidence I will be competing in London. I already see myself fighting in the ring.
I am so excited for trials, worlds and hopefully the Olympics, and when it's all over, I'm going to eat. And eat. For my first meal, I want barbecue ribs, king crab legs, macaroni and cheese and cheesecake or apple pie with ice cream. I could go on and on. I want it all. I moved from the welterweight division down to fight in the lightweight division once the Olympic weights were announced. I am a stronger fighter at 132 pounds, so having to move weight classes was probably the best scenario for me. But in order to maintain my weight, everything I eat is clean. Instead of fried chicken, I have baked chicken. I eat steamed vegetables all the time. It tastes good, but I want grease all over my plate and down my face. I am going to give it my all, get that gold medal, and then I can eat.
I worked hard for this. I am ready. As I like to say, "Can't stop, won't stop." I'm Queen Underwood, queen of the ring.
Queen Underwood has won five consecutive national boxing championships -- three in the light welterweight division, followed by two in the lightweight category. After winning a bronze medal at the 2010 worlds, Underwood is determined to represent the U.S. when women's boxing makes its Olympic debut in London this summer.
I have been working for a while in Accra’s biggest slum; officially called Old Fadama but notoriously known among the citizenry as Sodom and Gomorrah. Whenever I am there working, it is really not poverty and destruction I see. What I see, is a lot of hope and an all out war against poverty; against systems, against political and economic wickedness in high places designed to keep them down; against lethargy, against fate.
Majority of the people here are migrants from the Northern parts of Ghana. They have abandoned lands and spouses and the familiar to come and wrestle their fair share of the national cake from the gluttonous. If the Accra Metropolitan Assembly doesn’t come after them, the rains do. If the rains don’t come to torture them, fire does; and yet they rise. I was told by my fixer that “if fire burns down a wooden house today (most of the houses are wooden), by tomorrow they build a new one. I don’t know where they get the money from”.
On my last visit, after doing a couple of portraits and we were heading out of the community, a young man who was playing oware with his friends suddenly had an epileptic seizure and was thrown so violently, his forehead crashed into the dry ground and he started bleeding profusely. The silence was chilling as everybody waited out the spams that were tearing through his muscular body. When the spasms seized, a neighbor quietly poured water from a “buta”, (a plastic kettle filled with water for ablution) on his face to wash away the blood. He has survived this one too; and he will rise.
Sometimes, I feel there’s a part of the West that is trying to quickly make up for the years of damage they have done to the reputation of Africa. A lot of them are so zealous, now they don’t mind pretending everything is well with the continent. The truth is, everything is not well. We are on our way but we are not there yet. We have energy. We have youth. We have intelligence and passion and drive and determination and creativity… what we are praying for now, is leadership.
Everyday, we pray for another Mandela, another Nkrumah. We pray for men and women who will make the total liberation and rise of Africa their heartbeat and be willing to live and die to see that come to pass.
The Arab Spring has clearly proved that the violent, unplanned overthrow of leadership is not the best way forward. A destabilized Africa enriches everybody else but Africa. What we need is a deliberate plan for rising out of the ashes… and I know that we will rise. Africa will rise again. Africa is rising.
