WWLA: Eligibility

The We Will Lead Africa book series is edited collections of stories about the work and impact of everyday Africans who are leading change and transformation on the continent. It includes stories of capacity building, innovation, action and progress with a demonstrated impact on the continent; representing all geographic regions of Africa and a variety of socio-cultural and industry sectors.

Submission deadline for our 2018 call for stories on Governance and Women, is 31st August 2018, midnight CAT.

Stories should be submitted to submissions@wewillleadafrica.com

All stories should meet the submission criteria that follow and use this Submission Form as the cover sheet for their story (also submitted in Microsoft Word format).

Submission Criteria

All stories should be original work, submitted in English, following these guidelines:

  • Story length: 1500 – 2500 words.
  • Should be submitted in Microsoft Word, single-spaced.
  • All pages should bear the title of the contribution and name/s of the author/s and the submission accompanied by the attached Submission Form.

In addition, for We Will Lead Africa: Women submissions

  • We are accepting stories expressed in a number of mediums - if you wish to submit a story in a different format, please email us with a brief explanation of your idea so we can discuss how to include you.

Contributing Author Eligibility

You are an eligible author/group of authors if you:

  • are African by lineage, heritage, citizenship, immigration and/or self-identification, living anywhere in the world and;
  • have recently done (in the past 3 years) or are currently doing governance work in any African country that is already showing outcomes or making a difference as defined by you and/or the group you are working with.
  • You may also interview others who have done / are doing the work, and submit a story on their behalf. If you would like to tell someone else’s story, you must have their confirmed permission in writing or where not possible in writing, their recorded verbal consent. In addition they must be listed as a co-author.

In addition, for We Will Lead Africa: Women submissions

  • Stories by people who identify as women will have priority, but stories by men may also be included if they document examples of leadership by and for African women.

Content

Submissions should be narrative or story-based, answering the following questions:

  • What’s your personal story?
  • What inspired you to start/do the work you are doing?
  • What was the challenge you sought to address or potential you sought to unlock?
  • What did you do and how did you do it?
  • What have been the outcomes and impacts of the work to-date?
  • What has the experience taught you?
  • What do you see for the future?

Style and citations

  • All stories must use non-discriminatory language
  • The book is aimed at a broad audience so the use of jargon and acronyms should be limited to those strictly necessary for the argument, and if used should be spelled out the first time they are mentioned.
  • Citations should always be accompanied by precise references and anecdotal information provided may be fact-checked.
  • Graphics or images that enhance the story are encouraged – you must have permission to use these, and they must be submitted separately in high resolution.

Review process & disclaimer

All stories will be reviewed by the editorial team, who reserve the right to accept or reject submissions.

Stories will be reviewed based on a combination of the following:

  1. Strength of storytelling
  2. Thoroughness of the story, covering all the elements requested in this call for submissions including details of outcomes and impacts
  3. Likelihood that the story will inspire and galvanise those that are living and working for a prosperous Africa
  4. Representation of work from a geographical spread
  5. Representation of authors of diverse African backgrounds
  6. Representation of stories from a variety of sectors and disciplines.

Note: Although ALL stories will be given full consideration, preference may be given to stories that would otherwise / usually go unnoticed or unheard.

By submitting a story you acknowledge that the intent is to publish selected stories within a We Will Lead Africa volume and other publications, at which point you will be expected to sign over rights. Upon submission you will be sent an acknowledgement of receipt. All submissions will be given full consideration and will receive a response, whether they are accepted or not, but detailed feedback on rejected stories may not be possible. Authors of final accepted submissions will be asked to sign a contributors’ agreement before publication.

Submission schedule and timeframes

Submission schedule and timeframes subject to change and will depend on number of stories submitted. We expect to publish volumes in mid-2019.

Call for submissions

Feb – August 2018

Submission deadline

31 August 2018 (midnight CAT)

Selected stories confirmed & edits requested where necessary

From September 2018

Publishing process

Early 2019

Download the submissions form here