This inaugural arts-based conference will launch Manchester Met’s Centre for Migration and Postcolonial Studies (MAPS) and will take place online on 3rd September 2021. The format has been designed to assist international participation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference welcomes papers addressing any aspect of the topics of ‘borders’ and ‘boundaries’ in relation to the literature and writing of migration that reflects current developments in the fields of migration and postcolonial studies.

Manchester Metropolitan University’s Centre for Migration and Postcolonial Studies (MAPS) is also pleased to announce its inaugural short story and poetry competition. The competition marks the launch of the new Centre and coincides with the Centre’s inaugural conference, Breaking Boundaries: Reimagining Borders in Postcolonial and Migrant Studies. We invite submissions from conference delegates (both within the UK and abroad) to submit original, unpublished work for this year’s theme: Borders.

The prize is open to anyone 16 years of age and over and registered for the conference. The story or poems submitted must not have been published anywhere else, online or in print. Entry to the competition is free for delegates, but only one submission (either in poetry or prose) is permitted. The word limit for prose submissions is 2500, and we ask for one single story, in any genre. The word limit for poetry is 120 lines, and we ask for a submission of 2-3 poems, in any style or form. Submissions should be made between Tuesday 6 April and Wednesday 30 June 2021. Entries received after 30 June will not qualify for the competition. Students and staff from MMU are not eligible to enter.

Two winners will be selected, one from each category – poetry and prose. Winners will be announced on 3rd September to coincide with the conference. The winning authors will receive £100 pounds each. Twelve short-listed authors (six from each category), including the winning entries, will be published on the MAPS website.