Conversations with Biko
"Conversations with Biko"
Creative Writing Competition
16 June - 30 September 2007
(The dateline has been extended to the end of September to allow contributors more time to refine their entries!!!)
The Steve Biko Foundation and Xarra Books
launch
the Biko 30:30 Youth Creative Writing Competition
On 12 September 2007, South Africa will witness the thirtieth anniversary of the murder of Steve Biko. The Steve Biko Foundation is organizing a series of commemorative events to mark the thirtieth anniversary of this leader who died at the youthful age of thirty years. Dubbed Biko 30:30, this occasion will examine the contemporary meaning of Biko in Africa and the Diaspora through a number of events from June to September 2007 which include:
· A conference entitled Consciousness, Agency & the African Development Agenda
· A series of music concerts
· Community festivals including visual, literary and performance arts
Biko made an important contribution to the freedom that many fought for, and which is enjoyed today by all South Africans. In his brief life, Bantu Stephen Biko raised the hopes of the people by cementing the foundations of the liberation of South Africa. Through his death he showed the world the brutality of the apartheid regime, and helped to bring about its ultimate downfall.
For a new generation of South Africans, born in freedom, it is necessary, not only as part of history but as part of our identity to engage with the ideals and consciousness of Biko.
The Steve Biko Foundation, in partnership with Xarra Books will start a wave of discussions about Biko through a national writing competition. We call for aspirant writers to submit a poem or a prose piece (short story, essay) to enter the competition.
Rules of the competition:
· The piece should be about the relevance and impact of Biko’s ideas today or as if the writer were in conversation with Biko.
· Poems should be no longer than three A4 page and prose not more than 10 pages (3000 words). Any pieces that are over the length indicated will be disqualified.
· The piece must be submitted in English.
· The competition is open to anyone from age 14 - 36 years old.
· The piece must be sent via email to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it">
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writingbiko@xarrabooks.com
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
by midnight on 30 September 2007. No late entries will be accepted.
· Every entry must have a REGISTERED NAME (not pseudonym/alias), AGE, CONTACT NUMBERS and EMAIL ADDRESS.
· The competition is open to young people of the African continent.
· The judges will select the top 10 writing pieces.
· A piece submitted for the competition may be used in any of the publications of the Steve Biko Foundation, or for the purposes of the 30:30 campaign, or for the Steve Biko archives. It will be taken that the writer accepts this as one of the conditions of the competition.
· The winning entries will be published in a Book with the working title “Biko Today - Conversations with Biko”. Copyright will belong to the Steve Biko Foundation. 10 established writers will also contribute creative writing to the same book.
· The winners will be invited to either of the 30:30 campaign events for readings and to the book launch.
· The judges’ decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into with the entrants.
Through this series of commemorative activities, we are reminded that history shapes the future and we must look back in order to go forward.
A celebration of creative writing, freedom and the lives of those like Steve Biko.
Let your pen speak!
For more information check http://www.sbf.org.za/ or http://www.xarrabooks.com/
