Design Contest: Iskanchi Press Extends Deadline, Raises Prize to $300

A US-based publisher of African literature, Iskanchi Press, has extended the deadline for submissions to its design contest for The Hollow Sound of Lightweight Bodies by Unathi Slasha, winner of the 2025 Iskanchi Book Prize. The selected piece will be featured as the book’s cover. Synopis The Hollow Sound of Lightweight Bodies traces the peculiar […]

A US-based publisher of African literature, Iskanchi Press, has extended the deadline for submissions to its design contest for The Hollow Sound of Lightweight Bodies by Unathi Slasha, winner of the 2025 Iskanchi Book Prize.

The selected piece will be featured as the book’s cover.

Synopis

The Hollow Sound of Lightweight Bodies traces the peculiar life of Mxabanisi Bulawayo, a 21-year-old who spends his nights tending to the dead as a crematorium technician and his days chronicling lives as an amateur obituarist. Everything shifts when he crosses paths with Baba Bouka, a mystical guardian of forgotten animals and dream-born creatures.

In this darkly whimsical tale, Unathi Slasha weaves together folklore, fantasy, rumor, and grief, crafting a daring exploration of violence, melancholy, and the delicate boundary where reality slips into the surreal.

Contest deadline extension

The contest, earlier scheduled to close on September 30, has now been extended to October 14, 2025. 

The company also announced an upward review of the prize for best design, raising it to $300 from the earlier disclosed $200.

In a statement on its official X handle, the company added that in addition to the $300 prize, winners would also have their artwork included in Unathi Slasha’s award-winning book.

Interested entrants can submit their works to submission@iskanchi.com with the subject line: Cover Art Submission – Lightweight Bodies or visit the publisher’s official website for more details. 

Dedicated to promoting authentic African perspectives through the continent’s literature, Iskanchi Press also aims to address the negative presumptions about Africa as part of the effort to cater to the diverse interests of readers.