Deadline: July 12, 2025

Applications for the Ken Saro-Wiwa International Writers’ Residency 2025 are now open. The Ken Saro-Wiwa International Writers’ Residency is the brainchild of the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA, founded in 2024 to immortalise ANA’s former President and Environmental Activist who was executed along with 8 others on trumped up charges during Nigeria’s darkest military era.

The Residency programme provides a unique opportunity for creative writers in Africa to complete a literary manuscript at the state-of-the-art Mamman Vatsa Writers’ Village and Resort; located on the scenic Maitama Extension along Mpape Road, Abuja, Nigeria’s Capital. It aims to foster excellence, creativity, and cross-cultural exchange among participants. It also seeks to facilitate mentorship by bringing together established and emerging writers from diverse backgrounds across Africa to share their experiences, develop their craft, and contribute to the development of the continent’s literary landscape.


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Benefits

  • N15,000/Resident per week for the four (4) weeks. 
  • Two (2) extra weeks at the Resident’s personal expense.
  • N100,000 lump sum transportation fare for LOCAL RESIDENTS and N200,000 for INTERNATIONAL RESIDENTS.

Eligibility

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  • Applicants must be practicing creative writers based in Africa and currently working in the following literary genres: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, and Literary Criticism.
  • Applicants MUST have written and published at least one work, a book, or excerpts in a reputable literary platform (print or digital) prior to this application. Make sure to indicate this and the GENRE in your Résumé. (Link, Title, Publisher, Year of publication, and ISBN)
  • Fiction, Non-fiction, and Literary Criticism applicants must submit a 500-750-word sample of the work they intend to focus on during their stay at the Residency.
  • Poetry applicants MUST submit 5 poems from their work-in-progress.
  • Applicants MUST submit proof of their African national identity and evidence of living in the continent at the time of application.
  • Applicants MUST submit a 500-word STATEMENT OF PURPOSE stating why they need the Residency and describing what they would be working on during the Residency.
  • Applicants MUST submit a one-page profile or portfolio indicating their work. Applicants will be selected based solely on the literary quality of their application and nothing else.
  • Selected applicants MUST be willing to commit part of their time at the Residency to engage in mentorship activities with students and to participate in other cultural activities during their time here.
  • Writers MUST commit to completing the 4 WEEKS duration of the Residency (with 2 additional weeks, optional).

Application

Applicants are to submit the following:

  • A Comprehensive 2-Page Résumé.
  • Provide two (2) Referral Letters: (One-Page each) – One from the Chairman of their Association of Nigerian Authors State Chapter. (If you are an International Applicant, you MUST get your Referral Letter from the Secretary-General of the Pan African Writers’ Association (PAWA), and the other one from a respectable Nigerian, preferably an accomplished creative writer who can attest to your eligibility.
  • Submit a brief Sample of the ongoing creative work you want to improve or complete at the Residency (a 2-page /500-750 word sample)

Send your application as an attachment to [email protected]. Each application must be submitted as a Single PDF Document, and the title of the document must bear the SURNAME, FIRST NAME, and GENRE.


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For more information, visit Ken Saro-Wiwa International Writers’ Residency.

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