Afrodeities Foundation
The Connectives
A cross-border formation programme for African and Afro-descended writers, scholars, and cultural producers.
The Connectives is not a workshop. It is not a residency. It is a permanent working structure for writers who are serious about the African mythological and intellectual tradition, and who are ready to work within a canon rather than alongside one.
What the Programme Is
Formation. Not networking.
The Connectives is the Afrodeities Foundation’s flagship annual cohort programme. Each year, twelve writers and cultural producers are selected from across the six Compass Points regions: the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Brazil, Haiti, Uruguay, and the United States. They work together for twelve months in a structured programme of cross-border mentorship, collaborative publication, archival immersion, and canon-rooted practice.
The programme is built around a single premise: that writers from across the African diaspora need not only access to publication, but access to each other. The Connectives creates the conditions for that access to be rigorous, long-term, and grounded in a shared intellectual framework. The Bridgeworks canon is that framework.
Every cohort year culminates in the publication of a Connectives Anthology by Afrodeities Press. The anthology is not a showcase. It is a document of a working relationship between writers who have spent twelve months in intellectual proximity. The work in it is changed by that proximity. That is the point.
Programme Architecture
How the Programme is Structured
Phase One
Canon Orientation
Months 1 to 3. All twelve participants work through a shared sequence of Bridgeworks canon texts, guided by Institute faculty. This phase is not introductory. It is calibrating. Writers arrive already working in the tradition. The orientation establishes the shared reference points from which the collaborative work will grow.
Phase Two
Cross-Border Pairings
Months 4 to 8. Participants are paired across regions: UK with Nigeria, Brazil with Haiti, Uruguay with the United States. Each pair works on a co-authored or co-conceived piece, facilitated by a senior mentor from the Institute. Pairings are not random. They are built around complementary mythological traditions and forms within the Bridgeworks canon.
Phase Three
Anthology and Publication
Months 9 to 12. Final individual and collaborative pieces are assembled into the annual Connectives Anthology, edited by a guest editor drawn from the Institute’s senior faculty and published by Afrodeities Press. Each participant receives a full editorial process and is credited as a published author under the Press’s imprint.
The Six Nodes
Compass Points: The Regional Network
The Connectives draws its participants from six regions, each representing a distinct node in the African diaspora’s mythological and cultural geography. Two participants are selected from each node per cohort year.
United Kingdom
Paired with Nigeria
The UK node draws from the Afro-British and African-in-Britain literary communities, with particular weight given to writers working at the intersection of diaspora theory, myth, and civic cultural production.
Nigeria
Paired with the United Kingdom
Nigeria is the root node of the network’s Yoruba, Igbo, and Efik mythological heritage. Writers from Nigeria bring source knowledge that is foundational to the entire Bridgeworks canon. The pairing with the UK creates a direct line between origin and diaspora.
Brazil
Paired with Haiti
Brazil holds the largest Afro-descended population in the world outside Africa. Its Candomble, Umbanda, and Quilombo traditions carry living mythological force. Brazilian participants bring forms of African cosmological knowledge that remain outside most Anglophone literary canons.
Haiti
Paired with Brazil
Haiti is the first African-founded republic and holds unique political and cosmological authority. Its Vodou tradition is one of the most complete surviving systems of African mythological thought in the diaspora. Haitian participants bring a tradition of intellectual sovereignty that is central to the network’s purpose.
Uruguay
Paired with the United States
Afro-Uruguayan cultural memory has faced sustained erasure within South American national narratives. The Foundation’s presence in Uruguay is specifically designed to restore and amplify this tradition. The pairing with the United States connects a silenced community with one that has developed significant institutional cultural power.
United States
Paired with Uruguay
US participants are selected from the African-American literary tradition, with priority given to writers reconnecting that tradition to its African mythological roots. HBCU-affiliated writers and writers working in the Afrofuturist and speculative traditions are especially encouraged to apply.
What Participants Receive
The Full Offer
The Connectives is a fully funded programme. Participants receive the following for the duration of the twelve-month cohort year.
Mentorship
One-to-one mentorship with a senior Institute faculty member over twelve months. Monthly sessions focused on the participant’s manuscript or project in development. Mentors are selected for alignment with the participant’s mythological tradition and form.
Cross-Border Pairing
A five-month structured working relationship with a writer from the paired Compass Points node. Joint sessions facilitated by a programme coordinator. Participants work toward a shared piece for the Connectives Anthology, though individual submissions are also included.
Publication
All twelve participants are published in the annual Connectives Anthology under the Afrodeities Press imprint. The anthology is distributed across the Foundation’s network and is part of the permanent public archive. Participants retain all rights to their individual work.
Archive Access
Full access to the Afrodeities Public Archive for the duration of the programme, including digital and physical archive holdings at MythLabs London and MythLabs Nigeria. Participants working on research-based projects may apply for extended archival residency.
MythLabs Residency Access
Each participant is eligible to apply for a two-week in-person residency at a MythLabs facility during the programme year. Residencies are allocated based on programme phase and the participant’s project needs. Travel and accommodation are covered by the Foundation.
Programme Stipend
A participation stipend is paid to each cohort member on a quarterly basis across the twelve-month programme year. The stipend is intended to cover time given to programme activities. Its value is reviewed annually and set at the start of each cohort cycle.
Who We Select
Eligibility and Selection
Who may apply
Writers and cultural producers of African or Afro-descended heritage, based in one of the six Compass Points regions
Writers working in any form: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essay, oral tradition, myth criticism, speculative writing, or illustrated works
Writers with at least one significant completed work or publication, or with an active manuscript that demonstrates engagement with the African mythological tradition
Writers who are prepared to work within a canon framework and to commit twelve months to the programme’s structured demands
Selection criteria
Quality and seriousness of the submitted work: we are looking for writers who already engage with mythology as epistemology, not as background
The potential for productive exchange with the paired node writer: regional, formal, and traditional complementarity
Evidence of belonging to the tradition the applicant is working in, not observing it from outside
Capacity and willingness to contribute to a collective publication, not only to a personal project
How to Apply
The Application Process
Applications open annually. The application window for each cohort year runs from 1 October to 15 December. Successful applicants are notified in February and the programme begins in April.
Applications must be submitted to connectives@afrodeitiespress.com with the subject line: CONNECTIVES APPLICATION / [Region] / [Name]
Application Requirements
A writing sample of 3,000 to 8,000 words demonstrating engagement with the African mythological tradition
A statement of 500 words describing your relationship to the tradition you are working in and what you intend to develop during the programme year
A short biography of no more than 200 words, including your regional base and any relevant publications or cultural work
Confirmation that you are available to participate for the full twelve-month programme year beginning in April
Timeline
1 October – Applications open
15 December – Application deadline
February – Applicants notified
April – Programme begins (Phase One: Canon Orientation)
Following March – Connectives Anthology published
Apply to the Connectives
Applications for the next cohort open 1 October. Send your application to connectives@afrodeitiespress.com
For enquiries about eligibility, regional availability, or the programme structure, contact the Foundation directly. We respond to all substantive enquiries within two weeks.