10 Word Story 2025
"Words can inspire and words can destroy. Choose yours well."
Robin Sharma
10 Word Story 2025:
Standing Firm in Power and Pride
10 Word Story 2025 Has Officially Launched
The wait is over - House of Nyabinghi’s 10 Word Story 2025 is here!
This Black History Month UK (BHMUK), we invite you to celebrate creativity, heritage, and the power of storytelling under this year’s inspiring theme: Standing Firm in Power and Pride.
From Friday 10 October 2025 to 23:59hrs Monday 10 November 2025, the portal is open for submissions. Tell your story. Shape your legacy. Inspire the world - all in just ten words.
What Is the 10 Word Story Initiative?
The 10 Word Story initiative is a creative writing challenge celebrating the brilliance, resilience, and imagination of the global African diaspora. It’s simple: express your truth, your pride, or your vision for the future in exactly ten words - no more, no less.
Each story becomes a declaration, capturing an epoch of time. Together, they all form a living archive of our collective creativity - short stories told by us, for us.
Why 10 Words?
The initiative was inspired by House of Nyabinghi’s Calendar of Culture & Weekly Planner, which celebrates ten African diaspora nations each year - including Brazil, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, the UK, the USA, and beyond.
Each nation represents living history - both vibrant and cultural to maddening and macabre - for the descendants of enslaved people who survived the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and each 10 Word Story mirrors that legacy: one that is powerful, and deeply meaningful. Ten nations. Ten words. Endless possibilities.
Our Brand Pillars
Every 10 Word Story is inspired by one of our five brand pillars:
Creativity – the freedom to imagine and create new worlds.
Heritage – honouring the past and carrying it forward.
Innovation – shaping tomorrow through bold ideas and fresh perspectives.
Love – healing, uniting, and uplifting oneself and each other.
Ubuntu – the spirit of community: I am because we are.
These pillars are the heart and soul of House of Nyabinghi and impact everything we do.
Our mission remains the same: connect, converse, and create with our community; the invisible creatives and uncredited authors whose stories are woven into the very fabric of society, yet too often go unheard.
The Challenge
Your task is simple, to reflect the BHMUK2025 theme 'Standing Firm in Power and Pride':
- Choose one of our five pillars as your inspiration.
- Write a story in exactly 10 words.
- Submit as many entries as you like before 23:59hrs Monday 10 November 2025.
Each story could be:
- Factual
- Fictional (all genre's welcome)
- Drama (could be performed at a later date)
- Poetry
The magic lies in creating a story that inspires from the very first word to the last - proving that sometimes, the smallest frame can hold the biggest truths.
Whether your story is poetic, powerful, or playful, it’s your voice that matters most. Your words will stand alongside others from across the global African diaspora.
A selection of the best 10 Word Story submissions from our 2025 cohort will feature in House of Nyabinghi's Calendar of Culture & Weekly Planner 2027. Read the 10 Word Story submission criteria.
And don’t forget to share the link with your family, friends, schools, and creative communities. Let’s fill this year’s collection with stories that showcase how we come together and use our creativity to stand firm in power and pride.
Spread the Word
Every ten words shared builds the legacy of our community. Follow us on our social media channels and tag your submission using:
#10WordStory #BHMUK #HouseOfNyabinghi #StandingFirmInPowerAndPride