When it comes to Africa, war, corruption, poverty and death dominate the headlines – but not on this blog. Initially a Mail & Guardian newspaper series, Voices of Africa has relaunched as a digital product. Its aim is to tell the stories the world doesn’t hear often enough. We believe the everyday accounts of Africans getting on with life and showing adversity the middle finger deserve more attention. From the fashion-crazy women in Dakar to the eligible bachelors in Somalia; from the extravagant weddings in Tanzania to the nightlife in Nairobi, we want to showcase life in Africa by those who live it.
Go on, tell us your story.
But first take a look at our contributor guidelines:
- We consider submissions from all Africans, including those studying/working/living outside the continent.
- They must be well written, under 1000 words, and accompanied by a short biography.
- Hard news is not what we’re looking for. Features, commentary, satire and humour are.
- Share your personal opinion and experiences. Try not to be a spokesperson for an organisation or political party.
- Contributions that contain racist, sexist, homophobic or defamatory remarks — or that may be interpreted as such — won’t make it onto the blog.
- Write in English, though we don’t mind the odd word or sentence in any other language. Just ensure that the average English-speaking reader won’t feel completely lost.
- Fancy yourself as a photographer/videographer? We’ll happily publish multimedia too.
- Submissions that have been published elsewhere first are unlikely to be accepted unless they’re really, really good.
- The editorial team reserves the right to edit submissions that are accepted for publication.
- Send your submissions to [email protected]