This list of publishers meet our guiding principles, but are only open to free submissions from historically underrepresented writers or focus on publishing content produced by historically underrepresented writers. Some of these publications are open to a wide range of writers including writers of color, gender non-conforming and LGBTQ+ writers, and those living with disabilities. Some have limited definitions and are only interested in work by Black authors. 

We try to make it as clear as possible who the publisher is seeking work from. Sometimes the focus of the press is limited, even though there are no limitations on who can submit. A few of the opportunities are also limited by geography, again, we try to make this clear. There are always additional submission details at the site we link to, but we try to cover the basics as best we can as part of this list.

If you belong to a limited demographic that is not listed here, this list might be helpful to you.

As long as a press/opportunity/journal is open to submissions we will continue to list it, so some of the content on the list is new, some overlaps with previous issues. This article is an ongoing collaborative effort by Emily Harstone and S. Kalekar. Please send us an email at support@authorspublish.com if you have any feedback or an opportunity/journal/publisher, to recommend.

Literary Journals/Magazines

Black Women Radicals: 50 Years of the Combahee River Collective
This is a call for abstracts from Black women writers. Their callout on X says, “Black Women Radicals is celebrating “50 Years of the Combahee River Collective” with a Call for Abstracts for a Special Issue of our blog, VOICES IN MOVEMENT.” This is a call for nonfiction/essays only, not other formats. They have detailed guidelines, please read them carefully. Pay is $250. The pitch deadline is 24 June. You’ll be notified by end-July if your abstract is selected; full essays are due end-August. Details here and here.

New Orleans Review
They charge for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry submissions; but they have ongoing fee-free submissions from writers who are refugees, and Palestinian writers. Pay is $100-300 for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. And during June, they are also accepting free submissions from LGBTQIA2+ writers. “In celebration of Pride, all LGBTQIA2+ writers (not limited to the US) are encouraged to submit with no submission fee for the month of June. We are not here to box anyone in, so submissions about any topic by all LGBTQIA2+ writers are welcome. We are especially interested in trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming voices.” The deadline for this call is 30 June 2024. See their submission guidelines here.

Rough Cut Press: Mirror
They publish work from the LGBTQIA community, and have monthly themed submission calls. Send short prose of up to 650 words on the ‘Mirror’ theme. Pay is $25. The deadline is 27 June 2024.

FIYAH: Spacefaring Aunties
FIYAH is a speculative fiction magazine that only takes submissions from Black people of the African Diaspora. They want submissions on the ‘Spacefaring Aunties’ theme. “It’s time to explore the adventures of bold, fearless women who defy societal expectations and embark on daring space voyages. From thrilling space operas to quiet character studies, we want to see Aunties who are scientists,  engineers, pilots, and leaders guiding their crews through uncharted territory. What Kerine is looking for:
Women-led stories, not as sidekicks but fleshed-out protagonists.
SHOW how cool these Aunties are through their actions. Quiet moments on a spaceship are good, but make enough tension to highlight the bravery of these women.
A wide spectrum of women- queer, disabled, etc. – without feeding into the “Strong Black Woman ™” tropes that often dehumanize and stifle characters.” They also want speculative poetry. Length guidelines are: 2,000-7,000 words for short stories and novelettes up to 15,000 words; up to 1,000 words for poetry. Pay is $0.08/word for fiction, $50 for poetry. The deadline is 31 July 2024.

Mslexia
They want work by women authors only. They accept fiction, poetry, nonfiction, fun stuff, as well as pitches for interviews and articles. Some work they publish is on showcase themes (fiction and poetry), and some columns/sections are on other themes, or unthemed. Some sections are open for submissions by subscribers only. While the deadline for showcase themed submissions has passed, other sections/columns are still open, for the next issue. Pay is a minimum of £30; see their submission policy and payment rates here. The deadline is 8^th July 2024.

The Deadlands
They want death-related fiction from BIPOC writers only for the June submission window. They have extensive guidelines, including, “The Deadlands exists in liminal spaces between life, death, and elsewhere. We are looking for fiction that concerns itself with death—but also everything death may involve. A ghost in a shadowed wood. An afterlife discovered through a rusted door. An abandoned house in the middle of a haunted field. A skeletal figure moving with intent toward something unseen. Death personified. Burials in troubled lands. … We are not simply a “horror market.” Sure, we want your horror, but we also want your litfic, your slipstream, your fantasy, your sf, your chicklit, your hist-fic, your everything fic. Death touches everything and so should our fiction.” Their guidelines have details about the kind of work they like, and also the hard sells. They also accept reprints. While they want fiction from BIPOC writers only for this submission window, they have all their submission periods for the year listed on the website. They pay $0.10/word for stories up to 5,000 words. The deadline is 30 June 2024. Details here.

The Common
A new but respected literary journal that publishes stories, essays, poems, and dispatches, and pays their authors. The Common generally charges submission fees, but for two weeks every summer they offer fee-free submissions for all writers. This year’s fee-free period started on June 17th and ends on the 1st of July.

The Sprawl Mag
A literary journal that focuses on publishing (cyber-)feminist, anti-colonial speculative fiction, poetry, and visual art. They prioritize publishing perspectives that have historically been left out particularly in speculative fiction spaces. They are a paying market based in Canada. The deadline is 30 June 2024.

Saffron City Press
Saffron City Press is an online literary journal dedicated to amplifying the voices of Middle Eastern and Middle Eastern-American writers.

Plentitude
They want submissions from LGBTQ2S+ writers only; their Submittable has separate submission slots for Canadian and international writers. And, “All submission categories (hybrid/genre bender, poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction) are currently open to Canadian and US/international writers. Our new Genre Bender category is only open to Canadian writers at this time.” Every genre has a monthly submission cap. Pay is CAD60 per poem, CAD125 per prose contribution (fiction and creative nonfiction), CAD100 for book reviews and Genre Bender submissions. Currently, are only open for Canadian LGBTQ2S+ writers. Details here and here.

Room Magazine: Humor
This Canadian magazine accepts submissions of fiction, creative nonfiction, reviews (see guidelines), poetry, and art from people of all marginalized genders, including cis and trans women, trans men, nonbinary and Two-Spirit people (see guidelines). They’re reading submissions on the ‘Humor’ theme. They have detailed guidelines, including, “Genocides, heat waves, floods, fascism, an ongoing mass disabling event:the world is burning and it’s no laughing matter. But humour can be a weapon, a coping mechanism, a sacred instinct that keeps us alive and living amid the most devastating conditions. … Send us works that uplift to role of laughter in resistance, break comedic genres, explore the uses and limits of irony, upend white supremacist and ableist origins of standup—tongue-in-cheek, deadpan, alive-pan, cringe, unbelievable, absurd.” Send fiction and creative nonfiction of up to 2,500 words, or up to 5 poems. Pay is CAD50 per page, up to CAD200; reviewers and web contributors are paid CAD75. Submissions on the Humor theme are open until filled. Details here and here.  

Canto Cutie: Childhood, youth, and experiences in school
Canto Cutie publishes the work of Cantonese writers and artists and the Diaspora. They want writing and art for Volume 8, which “will be about childhood, youth, and experiences in school. We are looking for work about growing up and adolescence.” They also say, “submissions are conducted primarily in English. Cantonese language art and writing are accepted and encouraged. Anonymous submissions are permitted for politically sensitive works.” Submissions are open until filled. Details here and here.

Arcanum Magazine
Arcanum Magazine is a digital and print magazine for creative writing, visual art, cultural criticism, and journalism by and for the Black diaspora. They are a paying market that is open on a rolling basis to creative writing, cultural criticism, news, and journalism, as well as visual art.

Midnight & Indigo
They only accept work by Black women writers – speculative fiction, character-driven fiction, and essays. They pay $0.07/word for general and speculative fiction, and $100 for essays. They have rolling submissions for speculative fiction, and have deadlines for general fiction and essays. Details here and here

Kopi Break
They publish one poem a week by poets affiliated with Singapore and the Singaporean diaspora, and pay SGD10 per poem.

Split Lip Magazine
Split Lip Magazine is a voice-driven literary journal with a pop culture twist. They publish online monthly and in print annually – memoir, flash fiction, short stories, poetry, and art, as well as interviews and reviews (for interviews and reviews, query first via webform – see guidelines). Length guidelines are up to 3,000 words for fiction; up to 2,000 words for memoir; and one poem. Pay is $75 for web contributions, $5/page for print, $50 for interviews/reviews, and $25 for mini-reviews for their web issues. Fee-free submissions for all writers are open during certain months, these can close earlier by category, if their Submittable cap is reached. Fee-free submissions for Black writers are open till end-June 2024. Details here and here.

Decolonial Passage
According to their website they “publish writing from writers of all backgrounds regardless of race, origin, or gender while simultaneously centering African, African American, and Black Diaspora writing.” Their mission statement goes into more details about this. They are open on a rolling basis to essays, creative nonfiction, short stories, and flash fiction. They are open to poetry only during the months of January, March, May, July, September or November.

Bookish Brews
They describe themselves as a “book blog and a celebration of diverse books and authors (with a side of your favorite brew)”. They prioritize BIPOC writers but are open to submissions from other historically underrepresented groups also. They publish nonfiction, craft, and lifestyle essays as well as book reviews.

Mayday: Black
For Mayday: Black submissions, they want nonfiction pitches and drafts from Black writers – their website says, they are “committed to delivering a new experience for Black writers, including those seeking first-time publication. We welcome nonfiction work in opinions and analyses; personal, braided, and reported essays in contemporary and historical contexts. Bring your authentic, curious, courageous, well-rounded stories on life, living, love, loss, representation, race, racism, death, dying, Black plight and civil rights, neighborhood blight, gentrification, white flight, and more. (In no way is this an exhaustive list!)” They pay $50 for Mayday: Black essays of 800-3,000 words. Details here and here. (This magazine also occasionally accepts fiction, nonfiction, culture pieces, poetry, reviews, interviews, and translations from all writers, and pays $10-20 for these.)

Moko Magazine
A journal of Caribbean arts and literature, Moko publishes short stories, poems, interviews, essays, reviews of books, art, photography, and other types of visual media about the Caribbean and its diaspora. They are not interested in academic pieces.

Zindabad Zine
This print and electronic publication is based in the UK. They are open to submissions on a rolling basis. Currently they are closed to submissions for the print issue but open to electronic ones. They only accept work from people “in a diaspora”.  They publish personal essays, articles, poetry, fiction, visual art and photography.

The T4T Project
A zine by and for trans writers and artists of color. They have rolling deadline and feature 20 creators per issue.

The Kalahari Review
A weekly African literary magazine interested in material exploring modern Africa and Africans in unique and avant-garde ways. They publish their work on Medium.

Transition
Born in Africa and bred in the diaspora, Transition  is a publication of the Hutchins Center at Harvard University, published three times annually. Transition publishes writing by and about Africa and the African diaspora, with an eye towards a global perspective. They accept submissions year-round on a rolling basis, and generally respond to submissions within four months. They are currently looking for submissions on the ‘Solidarities’ theme (see guidelines), as well as unthemed work.

Lavender Review
An international, biannual e-zine published in June and December, they are open to submissions of poetry and art by, about, and for lesbians (including whatever LGBTQ might appeal to a lesbian readership). Submissions are open year round.

Ricepaper
This publication offers Asian Canadian context to ongoing arts and cultural issues, new perspectives on emerging and established Asian Canadian artists, and challenges mainstream media perspectives, little-known facts of interest, or critical stories that haven’t been told elsewhere. They are open to submissions from Asian writers around the globe as long as the editors can see a link between the content and some aspect of the Asian Canadian experience.

Raising Mothers
Raising Mothers celebrates and centers the experiences of  Black, Indigenous, and Brown parents. Some sections have reading periods; columns are open year-round.

Prismatica Magazine
An LGBTQ fantasy and science fiction magazine that publishes short stories, poetry, reviews, interviews, and articles. They have very specific submission guidelines so please read those carefully.

African Writer
They are open to all genres of literature from Africa and the African Diaspora. They do not allow simultaneous submissions.

Djed Press
This journal is based in Australia and they “prioritise submissions from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, on whose land we live and work and whose sovereignty has never been ceded.” They only accept submissions from “Australian and/or Australia-based Bla(c)k and other POC creators.” They really stress that work is likely to be edited and that you shouldn’t submit if you are not comfortable with that. Pay is AUD50-150 for text.

Afritondo
According to their website, “Afritondo is a media and publishing platform that aims to connect with and tell the stories of Africans and black minority populations across the globe.” They accept a wide range of work, including manuscript-length work.

Brittle Paper
Brittle Paper is an online literary magazine for readers of African Literature. They accept the following: “fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, book reviews, essays, literary commentaries, fun listicles, and any writing with a literary bent”.

Torch Literary Arts
Torch Literary Arts is a nonprofit organization. They publish and promote creative writing by Black women only; you can read more about them here. They publish contemporary writing by experienced and emerging writers. “We are interested in work that challenges and disrupts preconceived notions of what Black women’s contemporary writing should be.” General submissions are accepted for Friday Features only, in which they publish fiction, hybrid works, poetry, and drama (including that accompanied by video or dramatic audio). Send up to 2,500 for fiction/hybrid works, up to 10 pages for drama, or up to 5 poems. Pay is $150. Submissions are accepted on an ongoing basis; you can submit here.

Tagg Magazine
Tagg is a US-based queer women’s publication. Their website has several themes they accept articles on, including personal essays, listicles, dating advice and fashion-related content. Articles are 350-1,000 words long and pay $75-175. They welcome pitches for article ideas. See the pitch guide for contributors here.

Bi Women Quarterly
BWQ features the voices of women “with bi+ sexualities (i.e., bi, pan, fluid, and other non-binary sexualities)” and they see “woman” as a broad category and welcome contributions those who identify as trans, non-binary, cis, etc. They publish articles, creative writing, musings, and more.

KOENING ZINE
They publish art, fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction submissions  primarily by Asians, but they are open to submissions from non-Asians. Their uniting theme is Asian Folklore. Submitters must be over 18.

POETRY SANGO-OTA
We only usually include journals currently open to submissions, but this list is always published on the third Thursday of a given month, and this journal is only open to submissions through the 1st to the 10th of each month, so we are listing it and encouraging you to set a calendar alert for when it reopens on the 1st of the next month. “We are interested in poems with a keen connection to a sense of place, nature, or otherworldly geographies.” They only publish African poets, and pay N2,500 per poem.

Reappropriate
Reappropriate is an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) race advocacy and feminism blog, focusing on race, gender, identity, Asian American history, and current events. Pay is $75-150 for work of 800-2,500 words.

The Gay & Lesbian Review
The Gay & Lesbian Review is a bimonthly magazine of history, culture, and politics targeting an educated readership of LGBT people, and their allies that publishes themed features (2,000-4,000 words), reviews, interviews, and departments. They have announced a few themed calls, and they also invite suggestions for future themes. — Sanctuary: The quest for safe spaces in LGBT history; — The State of LGBT Rights: What’s next for the movement?; and — LGBT Science: New research on gender & sexual orientation. Writers can send proposals or complete pieces. They pay for features ($250) and full-length book reviews ($100).

The Acentos Review
The Acentos Review publishes writing, art, music and multigenre work by Latinx writers. They are open to submissions all year long. Details here.

Craft
This respected literary journal is open to creative work from authors of all backgrounds, but they offer free submissions + fast response times to BIPOC and other mis- and underrepresented writers, here. Craft pays $100 for flash and $200 for short fiction and creative nonfiction.

Aloka
They want work by non-native English speakers only – poetry, translations, fiction, and hybrid work. Send up to 5 poems, or up to 2 prose pieces, up to 2,500 words each.

The Lighthouse / Black Girl Projects
The tagline of The Lighthouse is, “Cultivating spaces of solidarity and safety for southern Black girls to shine through focused programming and research.” They have an extensive guide for pitching articles, including “We … are always looking for thought-provoking stories and other content from marginalized communities, Black girls, (in particular, but not exclusively) and gender non-conforming people. In addition to story and long-form story pitches and op-eds, they accept photography and original artwork for their online blogging platform, The Black Girl Times, and their monthly newsletter, The Black Girl Times Redux. Also, “Each month, we have an editorial theme board (kind of like the mood boards interior designers use) we post on our social media accounts (@luvblkgrls). The theme board is intended to be an inspiration and provocation of thoughts, ideas and feelings. Your response(s) can be literal or abstract and loose. And again, it might not have anything to do with anything we’ve seen.” Pay is $0.25-$1/word. Pay for art (graphic design, cartoons and photo essays) is $150-1,000.

Singapore Unbound: SUSPECT
Their website says, “SUSPECT grew out of SP Blog, the blog of the NYC-based literary non-profit Singapore Unbound.” They want poetry, literary fiction, essays, and any kind of writings that do not fall into these categories, written or translated into English by authors who identify as Asian. They also publish reviews of books by Asian authors and interviews with Asian writers and artists. Pay is $100, and there is no deadline listed.

Breath & Shadow
Breath & Shadow only publishes work from people with disabilities. This is how they define disability: “We use the term “disability” broadly to encompass anyone with a physical, mental, emotional, cognitive, or sensory impairment that significantly affects one or more major life functions.” They accept writing on any topic in terms of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction and drama. Pieces do not have to be about disability. The academic or article type nonfiction, including profiles, interviews, and opinion pieces, do have to relate to disability in some way. They pay $25 for poetry and $40 for prose.

Screen Door Review
They only publish work by individuals who are Southern and queer. You can learn more about how they define Southern here. They publish flash fiction and poetry.

Emergent Literary
An exciting new literary journal that accepts a wide range of submissions from Black and Brown authors.

LatinX Lit Audio Mag
LatinX Lit Mag is a safe space for literary work written by authors who identify as Latinx or Hispanic.

Presses/Anthologies

Bannister Press: Other– the 2024 fantasy short story anthology
Bannister Press specializes in supernatural and fantasy stories loved by adults and young adults. For this fiction anthology, they only want submissions from writers who identify as women. “We are seeking international short story submissions by writers who identify as women for an anthology with a focus on what it means to be on the outside looking in, or comfortably or uncomfortably out of step with the world(s) at large, and with a fantasy element (either subtle or writ large). The story can be visually focused, or character/narrative focused, as long as it leaves the reader thinking about the story long after closing the book. We don’t want a lesson, we want an experience that makes us come alive. Humour is fine as long as it’s not about the mic drop.” Pay is $0.08/word for stories up to 3,500 words. The deadline has been extended to 31 July 2024.

Phoenix
Phoenix is a new speculative imprint launched by Nigerian publisher Ouida Books in collaboration with Nnedi Okorafor and Lọlá Shónẹ́yìn. Phoenix is dedicated to publishing African speculative fiction and fantasy (Africanfuturism and Africanjujuism). You can learn more about it here.

The Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series
This opportunity, from Black Lawrence Press, is for immigrants living in the US – for manuscripts of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and hybrid writing. “Poets and authors, at any stage of their careers, who identify as immigrants are welcome to submit a book manuscript of poetry or prose or a hybrid text for consideration. Submissions are accepted year-round. However, selections are made in June and November for a total of two books per year. In addition to publication, marketing, and a standard royalties contract from Black Lawrence Press, authors chosen for the Black Lawrence Immigrant Writing Series will receive a travel stipend of $500, which can be used for book tours or in any manner chosen by the authors.”

North Dakota State University Press: Contemporary Voices of Indigenous Peoples Series
The goal of this series to feature the authentic stories, poetry, and scholarly works of Native Americans, First Nations, Maori, Aborigines, Indians, and more to give voice to contemporary Indigenous peoples. NDSU Press considers book-length manuscripts of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for publication in this series.

Random House Canada
The Canadian arm of Random House changed their submission policy have opened their policy exclusively to LGBTQIA2S+ and BIPOC writers, as well as those from other traditionally underrepresented communities. They are particularly looking for “High quality commercial fiction in the following genres: literary, romance, speculative fiction, historical fiction, and mystery. Please note that we do not currently accept screenplays, stage plays, young adult fiction, children’s fiction, or picture book queries. All non-fiction submissions must be submitted via a literary agent.” They are open to submissions internationally, this is not limited to Canadians.

Somos en escrito Literary Foundation Press
They publish a literary magazine as well as books, they are “dedicated to publishing raza authors to express the narratives and needs of our communities, which typically get overlooked by the mainstream presses. We intend to be the institution nobody else will build for us.”

Tundra Books, Puffin Canada, Penguin Teen Canada
These children and teen focused Canadian imprints are open to direct submissions by underrepresented authors and illustrators only. Authors need not be Canadian.

Arsenal Pulp Press
A Canadian independent press that publishes a wide variety of work,  prioritizes work by LGBTQ+ and BIPOC authors. We have reviewed them here.

Blind Eye Books
Blind Eye Books publishes science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and romance novels featuring LGBTQ protagonists. They are a print publisher and their book covers are beautifully designed and really stand out. The books they have published have won and been nominated for a number of awards, including the Lambda. We have reviewed them here.

Lily
A small poetry press that publishes work of varying length. Submitting shorter work is free for everyone, but submitting poetry manuscripts is free only for poets who identify as Black. They are always open to these submissions.

Sourcebooks
We’ve reviewed Sourcebooks here, and their adult nonfiction imprint and their romance and horror imprints are always open to all submissions, but they also deserve to be on this list because their fiction imprint, their mystery imprint, their young adult imprint, and three of their children’s book imprints, all say “Our submissions are currently CLOSED to unagented projects, with the exception of works that directly promote diversity, equality and inclusion. For more information please email InclusiveFiction@Sourcebooks.com.” So if you have work that matches that description in those genres, please reach out to them.

Forever
The romance imprint of Hachette Book Group and Grand Central Publishing is open to direct submissions from BIPOC-identifying authors.

Angry Robot
A great science fiction publisher that only accepts direct submissions from Black authors.

Scholastic Canada
They are open to direct submissions from Canadian authors or focusing on Canadian content, who are from underrepresented communities, including Black writers, Indigenous writers, writers of colour, writers with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ writers and writers who identify with other marginalized groups.

Heartdrum
Heartdrum is an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books, which is edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, and is in partnership with We Need Diverse Books. Native and First Nations writers and writer-illustrators are welcome to query her directly via a form on her website. Native and First Nations illustrators are also invited to reach out.

Opportunities/Support/Contests

The FSG Writer’s Fellowship
The FSG Writer’s Fellowship is a yearlong program designed to give an emerging writer from an underrepresented community additional resources to build a life around writing: funding, editorial guidance, and advice on how to forge a writing career. It offers the unique opportunity for a writer to spend time with and enjoy the support and mentorship of the FSG community. It is for U.S. writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry who have never published a book, and are uncontracted. This fellowship will take place remotely. The applicant should be writing for an adult audience. Submissions include a writing sample (40-50 pages for prose, 8-12 pages for poetry). It pays $15,000. The deadline to apply is 30 June 2024. Apply here.

International Women’s Media Foundation: The Kari Howard Fund for Narrative Journalism
This is a grant for narrative journalism, and is open for women and nonbinary journalists. Grants will be for a maximum of $5,000. Applicants may be a print journalist or a print journalist leading a multi-media team. Projects reported and published in English anywhere in the world are eligible. All reporting and publishing must be completed within six months of the award of the grant. Applicants may be freelance or staff print journalists and may apply individually or as part of a multi-format team. Applicants must have three (3) or more years of professional journalism experience. The deadline to apply is 14 July 2024.
(See all of International Women’s Media Foundation opportunities here – click on the ‘Opportunities’ tab.)

The BCLF Short Fiction Story Contest for Caribbean Writers
This is a short story contest for Caribbean-descended writers, by Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival (BCLF). There are two categories, with different eligibility requirements:
— The BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writer’s Prize is open to unpublished writers of Caribbean heritage. Self-published writers may apply. This prize seeks to unearth hidden storytellers in the United States and Canada; Details here; and
— BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Award for Writers in the Caribbean is open exclusively to Caribbean writers of all levels who reside and work in the Caribbean or are on temporary assignment overseas.
Writers should send short stories of up to 3,000 words. Details here.
The prizes are $1,750 for each contest, and the deadline is 1 July 2024. Details here and here.

The Mustapha Matura and Alfred Fagon Awards
The Mustapha Matura Award is an opportunity for UK-based playwrights of Caribbean or African descent, resident in the UK, who are 25 years or younger, for a play. The play must be a minimum of 40 pages, and does not need to have been produced. However, if it has, only plays produced since August 2023 will be considered. The prize is £3,000 and mentoring from a top Black British playwright. The deadline is 31 July 2024. Details here.
And submissions are also open for Alfred Fagon Awards for UK-based playwrights of Caribbean or African descent, resident in the UK, for a play. The award is £6,000, and the deadline is 31 July 2024. Details here.
(Please note, writers cannot enter both the Mustapha Matura Award and Alfred Fagon Award. Also see their Roland Rees Bursary.)

Faber Children’s: FAB Prize
This is for undiscovered BAME writers and illustrators in the UK; you can read the prize announcement for 2024 here. Entrants must be of black, Asian or minority ethnic background and UK- or Ireland-based. For writers, they want a maximum of 5,000 words of text (no minimum word count). Also, “it does not have to be a short story (though those are welcome too!)
We do strongly advise you to complete your work insofar as you can, even if you do not enter the whole manuscript: after the ceremony agents will request the full manuscript, so in order to get the most out of the prize, it is best to have the whole manuscript ready to go.” Entries must be text or artwork for children. The prize is £1,500; the second prize is £500 each for a writer and an illustrator, and mentorship. The deadline is 28 June 2024. Details here, here, here, and here.

BIPOC Writers Connect

This virtual conference is for Black, Indigenous, and racialized emerging writers to connect with industry professionals, established authors, and fellow emerging writers.  It is presented by The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) and the League of Canadian Poets (LCP).  This online event includes the following.

Society of Authors: Dursilla Harvey Access Fund
These are small grants for UK-based/British writers, giving authors support for travel, subsistence, childcare or access needs for events, residencies, and retreats. “Usual grants will be £150 or less, but fair consideration will be given to all proposals.” Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. (Society of Authors also has awards for works in progress as well as contingency funds – all their grants are here.)

The Writing Barn Scholarship
The Writing Barn has a small but budding scholarship program available for our programming. Scholarships are awarded on the following criteria: seriousness of purpose, talent and financial need. They also offer specific Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity scholarships for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, Neurodiverse writers, and writers with disabilities.

Forward Funds: Creative Capital x Skoll Foundation Creator Fund
The crowdsourcing platform for creatives, Kickstarter, now has Forward Funds. Their website says, “Forward Funders are foundations, nonprofits, and organizations that back Kickstarter campaigns related to their visions and missions around a more creative and equitable world. Each Forward Funder makes a public commitment and then backs projects just like anyone else—through single pledges that bring the works one step closer to reality.” One such fund is the $500,000 Creative Capital x Skoll Foundation Fund. This backs projects by Asian, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx creators in the US on the crowdfunding platform – “Effective immediately, funds will be awarded on an ongoing basis to creators with active projects across all of Kickstarter’s categories: Arts, Comics & Illustration, Design & Tech, Film, Food & Craft, Games, Music, and Publishing.” Projects launched on Kickstarter following their rules are eligible, and creators can nominate themselves for specific Forward Funds via a form. This is for both, creators and organizations.

BIPOC scholarship for Emily Harstone’s classes at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish
Each time Emily Harstone offers a solo class through the Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish, there is now an opportunity for one to two writers who identify as BIPOC to take it for free. If you registered last year, please note that the form re-set in January, and you are encouraged to fill it out again.