Afrodeities Press
Submissions
Afrodeities Press publishes works that extend, deepen, or enter into conversation with the African mythological and intellectual canon. We do not publish on theme. We publish on standard.
What We Publish
The canon is not a genre. It is a standard of engagement.
Afrodeities Press is the publishing arm of the Afrodeities Institute. We publish works across the Bridgeworks canon and its adjacent fields: mythology, civic epistemology, speculative thought, oral tradition, ancestral memory, sacred ecology, and the poetics of African civilisational knowledge.
We are not a general trade publisher. We are not a vanity press. We are not a platform for work that uses African mythology as decoration. The writers we publish understand that mythology is epistemology. They engage with African thought not as source material but as a living intellectual tradition.
Our list includes codices, essay collections, speculative fiction, myth-rooted poetry, illustrated myth volumes, and civic cultural non-fiction. We prioritise writers from the African diaspora. We are currently building relationships with writers from the UK, Nigeria, Brazil, Haiti, Uruguay, and the Caribbean.
Current Submission Windows
Three Routes to the Press
Route 01
Full Manuscript
For completed works of 40,000 words or more. Novels, essay collections, myth-rooted non-fiction, codex volumes, and illustrated works. Include the full manuscript, a synopsis of no more than 600 words, and a short author biography.
Response time: 12 weeks. We read every submission.
Route 02
Proposal and Sample
For works in progress of substantial length. Submit a proposal of 800 to 1,200 words describing the work, its argument or narrative, its relationship to the African mythological tradition, and its intended audience. Include a sample of 5,000 to 10,000 words.
Response time: 8 weeks. Promising proposals will be invited to submit the full manuscript.
Route 03
Poetry and Short Form
For poetry collections, chapbooks, and short essay sequences under 20,000 words. We publish myth-rooted poetry with institutional force: works that hold a cosmological argument, not only lyric beauty. Submit the full collection alongside a statement of 300 words on your relationship to the tradition you are writing from.
Response time: 6 weeks. We read every submission.
What We Are Looking For
The Standard of Engagement
We publish work that:
Treats African and Afro-descended mythology as a knowledge system, not a backdrop
Brings intellectual rigour to its engagement with ancestral memory, oral tradition, or spiritual cosmology
Has civic reach: speaks to community, not only to academy
Is written with the authority of someone who belongs to the tradition they are working in
Contributes something the canon does not yet hold
We do not publish work that:
Uses African mythology as exotic colour or spiritual accessory
Treats the diaspora as a wound in need of healing rather than a civilisation in need of recognition
Reproduces colonial frameworks under the cover of cultural celebration
Seeks publication primarily for prestige or platform rather than for the work’s own necessity
Was written by someone who does not belong to the tradition they are claiming
Illustrated and Collaborative Works
Illustrators and Visual Artists
Afrodeities Press publishes illustrated myth editions alongside its text-based list. We work with African and Afro-descended visual artists to produce editions where image and text hold equal intellectual weight. The visual tradition of African mythology is not illustrative. It is constitutive.
If you are a visual artist with a body of work engaging with African cosmology, ancestral iconography, sacred geometry, or diaspora memory and you are interested in working with an Afrodeities Press author or developing an original illustrated volume, contact us at press@afrodeitiespress.com with a portfolio and a brief description of your interest.
Curriculum and Institutional Licensing
Using Our Work in Schools and Institutions
The Afrodeities Institute offers a curriculum licensing programme for schools, community organisations, NGOs, and educational institutions wishing to deliver myth-based African cultural education. Licensed materials include the Soil, Numbers, and Script curriculum modules, along with educator guides and classroom resources.
For curriculum licensing enquiries, institutional bulk orders, or partnership proposals involving our published works, contact institute@afrodeitiespress.com.
Submit Your Work
Send all submissions to submissions@afrodeitiespress.com
Use the subject line format: SUBMISSION / Route [01, 02, or 03] / [Title of Work]
All submissions must be sent as PDF or Word document attachments. We do not accept links to external documents or cloud storage.