The Academic and Non-Fiction Authors Association of South Africa (ANFASA) in collaboration with the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) announces its inaugural DSAC Publishing Hub.

This is an industry stimulus project to support authors and revitalise the publishing industry. Also, to encourage the creation of new literature telling our stories and preserving our heritage. It is essential for the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture to provide support for authors and the publishing industry to foster a dynamic literary community and sustain the creation of a wide range of significant literature including that written in the previously marginalised official languages. The Department aims to support the writing and publishing of 22 books written by South African authors.

The selection panel will consider manuscripts written in any of the official South African Languages including the Khoisan languages and will consider submissions in the following categories:

• Novels
• Poetry Anthologies
• Short Story Anthologies
• Drama Text
• Narrative non-fiction (e.g., politics, current affairs, history, military history, sport, true crime, biographies/autobiographies, health and well-being, humour, business and personal finance)
• Children’s and Young Adult books

Please note that we will not consider the following submissions:

• Television and Film Scripts
• Novelette and Novellas
• Self Help or motivational scripts

Successful authors will be awarded a sum of R25 000.00 for content development and in addition they will be paired with a publisher that will assist them through the production/publishing process.

An independent selection panel will assess the applications and recommend qualifying manuscripts. The selection panel aims to offer recognition to a wide-ranging group of authors and subjects. Three books will be chosen from the twenty-two published books, and be converted to braille, as part of the languages of writing for the visually impaired community.

The closing date for submission is 08 September 2023. Please note that late submissions will not be considered.