Africa Unpublished is an ongoing project which will be hosted on a website with same name. The project is the brainchild of Kudakwashe Dhoro, a Zimbabwean bookpreneur who has identified the need for unpublished African writers to be heard and read. The website is a platform for the presentation and showcasing of hitherto unpublished African literary works, from both established as well as budding writers. Writers will be re quired to create free accounts on the portal and they will create a profile that will among other things allow them to give a brief background of who they are, their style and genre, give titles of previously published work and have such options as work in progress, ask for collaboration and mentorship. Membership will be free and each writer will have their own writing portfolio, and with time, there will be a community that will exchange writing tips via various fora, thus providing writers with the opportunity to meet and bond with fresh creative minds. It is envisioned that every quarter, a panel of literature experts will review submissions (sample chapters and overviews of the whole book or poetry projects) and select a set number that they will incubate. The website itself is designed to act as an incubation hub for writers, providing them with guidance and mentorship, helping them develop their craft, raise their profile and, ultimately get publishers to notice their work. The site will also have an option for content creators (film or TV) to scout for and buy screenplay ideas, through a separate registration process. This will allow for the creation of a “one-stop shop” for African writers, publishers, content seekers and the general reading populace.
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