Call for Submissions
✍🏾
Enjoy it Vernacular Magazine
A Home for Language, Literature, and Local Pride
We invite writers, poets, and thinkers to submit original work in Runyankore, Swahili, Luganda, Kinyarwanda, English, and other languages rooted in East Africa and the African diaspora.
At Enjoy it Vernacular (EVer), we believe in the power of mother tongues—not just as tools of communication, but as living vessels of memory, imagination, and meaning. Our literary magazine is a celebration of writing as we are, in the languages that shaped us.
But at EVer, “vernacular” means more than language. We honour:
Vernacular spoken. Vernacular lived. Vernacular eaten, worn, planted, walked.
Vernacular in land and sky, in customs and creativity — all that the world once called “raw” or “local” has a home here.
🧭 What We Publish
We publish quarterly (every three months), featuring new work centered on a different theme for each issue.
For now, we accept:
📜 Short Fiction (up to 1000 words)
🖋️ Poetry (up to 3 poems)
✍🏾 Essays or Reflections (up to 800 words)
Languages currently accepted include Runyankore, Swahili, Luganda, Kinyarwanda, and English—with plans to expand.
Submissions in English should center Africa, anything vernacular, or the experience of being African in the world.
For what we publish and what we don’t, read our guidelines and pay attention to each and everything.
📢 What We Look For
Each issue has a single-word theme—open-ended, emotional, and rooted. We want to know what these words mean in your world, in your body, in your language.
We value:
Original, unpublished work
Boldness of voice
Love for language
No translations—we publish only in your original tongue
No political, explicit, or hate content
You don’t have to be “fluent.” You just need to be real. Write how you speak. Speak how you remember. Use the words your people gave you. Read our guidelines for more.
🔖 Bonus for Our Writers:
We welcome all submissions — but we especially encourage work that explores themes like:
Environmental conservation, gender equality, liberty, ecological knowledge, Language and/or cultural preservation, free and accessible education, economic empowerment, patriotism or at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
These are not requirements — but they’re a plus. We strongly encourage writers to anchor their work in at least one or two of these focus areas.
To be candid:
Submissions that don’t meaningfully touch on any of these themes are unlikely to be accepted.
We’re building a publication with purpose — and we’re looking for writing that reflects that spirit.
💰 Contributor Payment
We are independent and grassroots—run by a small team with big passion. At this stage, we do not offer payment for published work. There is no submission fee either.
We believe in publishing with purpose, not pressure. As we grow, our goal is to pay every contributor in every issue.
🖋️ What You Get
If your work is selected:
🌍 It will be published in Enjoy it Vernacular
🗣️ It will be shared with a growing community of African-language readers and writers
📚 You become part of a meaningful literary movement celebrating language, culture, and creative self-expression
🤝 Donations Welcome
Want to support us?
We accept donations to help us grow, pay contributors in the future, and continue publishing powerful vernacular work.
📧 Email enjoyitvernacular.magazine@gmail.com with the subject “I WANT TO DONATE” to receive details.
🌍 Our Vision
Enjoy it Vernacular is more than a magazine. It’s a multilingual space. A home for voices from across Uganda, East Africa, and the African diaspora. A space where language is not a barrier—but a birthright.
Whether you're writing in Runyankore or dreaming in Swahili, you're welcome here.
📬 Submission Form + Deadlines
We post a new call for submissions every three months with a fresh theme.
To submit, check our latest open call:
👉 Click here to view the current theme and submission form
Deadline and theme details are always included in the call.
🔗 Stay in Touch
Email: enjoyitvernacular.magazine@gmail.com
Subscribe: Click here to join us
Follow us on:
🔗 LinkedIn
📘 Twitter
🐦Facebook
Language is home. Let your voice live in it.
Write with us. Speak with us. Enjoy it—Vernacular.