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.
As a sidenote, we’ve noticed that The Future Bookshelf, Hachette UK’s much promoted initiative to improve representation in publishing seems to be defunct. They were supposed to have six reading periods a year and in 2023 only hosted four. Their last reading period was in July. They have yet to announce a 2024 reading period, and I suspect they will not.
Literary Journals/Magazines
Canthius: Trash
“Canthius is an intersectional feminist magazine that publishes poetry and prose by writers of marginalized gender identities, including trans, Two Spirit, non-binary, agender, cis women, genderqueer, GNC, and intersex writers. We are committed to publishing diverse perspectives and experiences and strongly encourage Indigenous women, Black women, and women of colour to submit. We also welcome submissions in Indigenous languages.” They are reading submissions on the Trash theme. Pay is $50-150, and the deadline is 1 April 2024.
Mslexia
This magazine only accepts submissions from women authors, and is accepting submissions in various genres. They pay, and have different deadlines. For some inclusions in Issue 102, the deadline is passed, and for others, it is 8th April 2024; click on the tabs on their guidelines page for details. They accept fiction, nonfiction, poetry, fun stuff, as well as article and interview pitches. They have some formats that are open for submissions by their subscribers only, while others are open for all women writers. Also see their submissions policy. Pay starts at £30 (“We pay for everything we publish in Mslexia, aside from some uncommissioned pieces in the ‘forum’ section of the magazine” – see here.)
Rough Cut Press: Dream
They publish work from the LGBTQIA community, and have monthly themed submission calls. Send short prose of up to 650 words on the ‘Dream’ theme. Pay is $25. The deadline is 27 March 2024. Details here.
Terrain.org
This magazine focuses on place, climate, and justice. They publish fiction, poetry, essays, articles, artwork, videos, and other contributions, as well as translations. “We are seeking work in English (or translation) from around the world, and particularly Indigenous, Native, Black, Brown, and other historically marginalized and underrepresented voices as we expand our contributions on social, environmental, and climate justice.” General poetry submissions are closed, while general fiction and nonfiction are open; submissions for ARTerrain and Letter to America are open year-round.
They are also reading submissions for a special call; they have detailed guidelines on the ‘Climate Stories in Action’ theme, including, “Narratives and art that center solutions (about climate action), introduce us to everyday climate heroes, and showcase the joy discovered through community engagement often lead to feelings of agency and possibility.
The “Climate Stories in Action” series will expand our vision of climate activism and help people imagine meaningful ways to be involved. We are inviting storytellers to submit poetry, nonfiction, fiction, art and multimedia pieces that showcase climate activism in professional, civic and community life. We are interested in stories that help shift our cultural mindset from despair to creative possibility and from isolation to collective purpose.” They will publish 12 pieces in this special series. Pay is $200 for Climate Stories in Action series; and $50 for regular contributions. The deadline is 31 March 2024 for general prose; 8 April 2024 for Climate Stories in Action. Details here and here.
(Terrain.org also has an annual Editor’s Prize of $500 per genre for underrepresented writers for which there is no submission fee, and another prize, for all writers, for which there is a submission fee – see guidelines).
The Other Side of Hope: Journeys in Refugee and Immigrant Literature
They publish fiction, poetry, and art from refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants only; these are unthemed. They also consider poems from refugee/asylum seeker writing groups. Non-fiction (1,000-5,000 words) and book reviews are open to all, and the theme for those is migration. Also, A.M. Heath Literary Agency will offer 1-2-1s to 6 of their contributors. They pay £100 per published writer, and £300 for art; asylum seekers get gift cards. The submission deadline is 30 April 2024.
LampBlack Lit: Community
This is a magazine dedicated to voices from the Black diaspora. They’re reading submissions of prose and poetry for their ‘Community’ issue. “While capitalism fuels armed conflicts across the known world, it simultaneously facilitates the broadcast of genocides in Palestine, Sudan, and Congo; we have all been implicitly asked to pick sides. But what of those who do not choose? Of those that do not feel it is their place? — What creates the duty of community and who are its participants? What is its role? Lampblack’s Community issue seeks to interrogate these questions through writing…. Offer us work that best represents who you are as a writer. We will consider all submissions, regardless singularly on the strength of its craft. If you are looking for a prompt, feel free to write about what community means to you.” Length guidelines are up to 15 pages for prose, and up to 5 pages for poetry. Pay is $350. The deadline is 1 April 2024. Details here.
Scarlet
A bi-monthly run by Jaded Ibis Press, Scarlet focuses on the presses larger mission to “uplift marginalized voices.” They are open to original works of poetry or prose that amounts to 1,500 words, or less. They pay $80.
The Missing Slate
Based in Pakistan, The Missing Slate focuses on providing space for marginalized authors to submit their work. They are currently open for submissions for the theme “Homebound.” They will close to submissions on April 15th.
African American Review
John Hopkins University Press publishes this “aggregation of insightful essays on African American literature, theatre, film, the visual arts, and culture; interviews; poetry; fiction; and book reviews,” on a quarterly basis. They close to submissions on 1st May 2024.
Kopi Break
They publish one poem a week by poets affiliated with Singapore and the Singaporean diaspora.
Hammock
They are a platform for “contemporary writing from the Indian subcontinent and beyond.” They publish a wide range of writing including stand alone novel excerpts.
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 $150 for essays. They have rolling submissions for speculative fiction, and have deadlines for general fiction and essays – the next deadline is 31 March 2024. Details here and here.
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 mid-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.
Wishbone Words
An online creative writing magazine for chronically ill and disabled writers and artists, they publish a wide range of creative work. All contributors receive free copies. Their family and friends get a discount for that issue as well.
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.
Peril
An Asian-Australian journal focused on arts and culture, they pay $75-300 for pieces, but can only guarantee payments for Australian contributors (their submission guidelines have more details about this). The theme of their current issue is “You, where you’re at.” They are open to submissions in creative and new media interpretations of literature, including “those in video, audio and text format, graphic stories, sound or visual art, as long as it can be presented online and has a relationship to story. We accept prose, non-fiction, essays, creative non-fiction, opinion/blog posts, visual art, documentation of performance, videos, audio.” They ask for less than 1,000 words for text submissions and three poems for poetry submissions.
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.
NonBinary Review
They are open to submissions from everyone on the theme of ‘Heredity’ (deadline May 1st or until filled) – they pay $10-30 for poetry and prose. They also offer advice on submitting to journals in general through their Dear Horace Greeley column, and also accept submissions for Visual Verse. You can learn more about all of these on their Submittable page. They also offer free Feedback for Poets of Color, which is just what it sounds like. Writers of color may submit one poem, up to 50 lines, for consideration. Two poets per month will be accepted, and the poetry editors will work with those two poets to edit, improve, and strengthen their work. Acceptances are done on the first of the month, although submissions are open year-round.
Gay Flash Fiction
They welcome submissions on any theme and in any genre, as long as there is a is a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex connection. Please only submit one story at a time. They are also open to poems under 500 words in length, as well as related artwork.
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.
Aurelia
Aurelia publishes the nonfiction work of marginalized genders: women, non-binary people and trans men. “Aurelia is a publication dedicated to personal thoughts, feelings and experiences. The things you think and the way you feel must be at the centre of your piece. All article submissions must be written in the first-person (“I think, I feel, I want…”)” Please send them pitches only, not unsolicited submissions. They pay £50. Details on how to pitch are here.
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”.
The Awakenings Review
The Awakenings Review is a project of The Awakenings Project. Established in cooperation with the University of Chicago Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation in 2000, this print journal accepts poetry, fiction, and nonfiction from writers that have a personal connection to mental illness.
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 $100. 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 Woman 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.
Tangled LacesA magazine focused on publishing writing by queer teen authors between the ages of 14-18.
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.
Afternoon Visitor
This is an online quarterly publication of poetry, hybrid text, visual poetry, and visual art, and they’re particularly interested in giving space to trans + queer writers in each issue.
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.
— Believe It or Not: Queer episodes in LGBT history
— The Science of Homosexuality: What have we learned?
— The Travel Issue: The role of travel in LGBT culture
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.
the archipelago
They publish creative work that rewrites the map. Rewriting the map may involve oceans; islands; travel; movement; the decolonial/transcolonial; multilingualism; geography; cartography; displacement; relationships between unlikely places. They primarily publish short stories, poetry, creative nonfiction essays, fine art, photography, film. They publish work in فارسی , اَلْعَرَبِيَّةُ , Somali, မြန်မာဘာသာ, bahasa Indonesia, español, français and English. While they prioritize writers of color they are open to submissions from all. They pay for accepted work and also have an ongoing mentorship program which you can learn about at the bottom of this page. To submit, visit the link and email pitches@thearchipelago.org.
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 $20 for poetry and $30 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
Bikes in Space Anthology series – Queer Halloween
They’re looking for stories for their 13th anthology in their Bikes in Space series. “Please submit your original queer Halloween short fiction (in written or comics form) about bicycling from a feminist perspective. We’re looking for stories that give us a shiver or make us leave the hallway light on at night. Raise our hair and make our spines tingle. We’ll also consider Halloween-themed stories that aren’t as frightful, but they should still be infused with all things spooky season. Stories should be written by authors who consider yourself queer (in whatever way you identify), and should feature Halloween and/or otherworldly elements, and queer characters/themes, as well as feminism. All four elements should be intrinsic to the narrative:
Halloween (or stories sufficiently scary or thematic enough to be read around Halloween)
Queer
Feminism (it is sufficient to simply not include sexist themes or tropes)
Bicycles
The genre can be anything fantastical—ghost stories, horror, hard sci-fi, comedic fantasy, slipstream, or anything in that constellation—despite the series title, stories need not be set in space.” They want works of 500-6,000 words. Payment is a minimum of $50 (see guidelines). The deadline is 15 April 2024.
Misti Media: Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? – Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of Boy George and Culture Club
This is a fiction anthology. “In the 1980s, the world had never seen anything quite like Boy George and Culture Club. English pop met fashion and androgyny to usher in the New Romantic era of music. … what better way to celebrate them than with outstanding crime fiction inspired by their music? … Your work must be based on a song that’s an original Boy George and/or Culture Club song and cannot be a cover performed by them …(and) must relate strongly to the song it’s inspired by, whether that’s by the lyrics or the name.” And, “LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC characters and authors very, very strongly encouraged. Be authentic! Remember that this anthology is for Pride Month.” Their preferred length is 3,000-5,000 words, and they pay $25. The deadline is 31 March 2024.
Under the Pink: Horrors Inspired by the Music of Tori Amos
Book Slayer Press is open for a fiction anthology; Under the Pink: Horrors Inspired by the Music of Tori Amos. This is open for submissions by authors who identify/identified as femme. Pay is $100 for stories of 3,000-5,000 words, and the deadline is 31 March 2024.
Fourteen Poems
A small press that is sometimes open to solo chapbooks and also publishes a thrice yearly of LGBTQ+ poets. They have a rolling submissions window but the deadline for the next issue is May 15th 2024. You’ll hear back from them by mid-July. They pay £25 for each poem published.
Blue Cactus
They accept submissions for full-length manuscripts by women, transgender and gender-nonconforming People of Color in the Pacific Northwest on a rolling basis. They are not interested in receiving manuscript submissions from someone who doesn’t match this description. Their focus is primarily on non-fiction work including poetry.
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 SeriesThe 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.
Peepal Tree Press
The world’s leading publisher of Caribbean and Black British writing publishes around 15 titles a year. They try to respond to all submissions within 20 weeks.
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
Red Hen Press Ann Petry Award
This is an award for a Black writer; for a work of previously unpublished prose, either a novel or a collection of short stories or novellas, with a minimum of 150 pages. The award is $3,000 and publication. The deadline is 31 March 2024. Details here and here.
(See all of the Red Hen Press awards here.)
Goose Lane: Claire Harris Poetry Prize
This is a prize for a poetry manuscript organized by Goose Lane’s icehouse poetry imprint. “Eligible writers include Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada who are writers from Black, Indigenous, or other racialized communities and who have not previously published a book-length collection of poetry. (Poets who have published a chapbook, but not yet a book-length collection, are eligible to apply.)
Manuscripts should be book-length works of poetry, i.e., approximately 48-100 pages. (Chapbook-length manuscripts are not eligible.) Submissions may draw upon a broad range of aesthetic practises, from lyric poetry to genre-busting experimentation.” The prize is $1,000, and the deadline is 31 March 2024. Details here and here.
Maya Angelou Book Award
Their website says, “The Maya Angelou Book Award was founded in 2020 to honor the legacy of Missouri-born author Maya Angelou. The award recognizes exceptional books by contemporary authors whose work demonstrates a commitment to social justice and diversifies contemporary American literature. The Maya Angelou Book Award recognizes works of poetry or fiction in alternating years.” It is for books published in 2023, or scheduled to be published until November 2024; for this cycle, books of fiction (both novels and short story collections) are eligible; poetry books are not eligible for this cycle. Entrants must be available for a two-week reading tour at partnering educational institutions in Missouri (see guidelines). Entries have to be made by publishers only, not writers. The prize is $10,000, and the deadline to apply is 1 April 2024.
Sisters in Crime: Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award
The Eleanor Taylor Bland grant is administered by Sisters in Crime. Sisters in Crime was founded in 1986 to promote the ongoing advancement, recognition, and professional development of women crime writers. This annual grant is $2,000 to an emerging writer of color. This grant is intended to support the recipient in crime fiction writing and career development activities, including research. You can see past winners here. This year’s deadline is March 31st. Full details at the site.
International Women’s Media Foundation Grants
International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) has several cash grants/awards for women and non-binary journalists; some of them are open now, including the international Howard G. Buffet Fund for Women Journalists (rolling deadline); and US-based Fund for Indigenous Journalists: Reporting on Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit, Transgender People (rolling deadline); Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship (deadline 21 April 2024). Click on IWMF’s Opportunities and Awards tabs on this page for more.
ALTA Travel Fellowships
Each year, several fellowships of $1,000 each are awarded to emerging translators (someone who does not yet have a book-length work of translation published or under contract) to help them pay for hotel and travel expenses to the annual American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) conference. Part of the application requirement is up to 10 pages of translated work (poetry or prose – see guidelines). “While the Travel Fellowships are open to all applicants, we especially encourage applications from translators of color, translators with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ translators.”
They also have the Peter K. Jansen Memorial Travel Fellowship, which is preferentially awarded to one emerging translator of color or a translator working from an underrepresented diaspora or stateless language (apply using the ALTA Travel Fellowship application, and check the Jansen Fellowship eligibility box in the application form – see guidelines).
Also see ALTA’s other awards for published works, including the international ALTA First Translation Prize, inaugurated in 2024, for emerging literary translators and their editors – $2,000 to the translator and $1,000 to the editor – open to all genres, awards one debut literary translation from any other language into English published in the previous calendar year. The deadline is 18 March 2024. Details here and here (scroll down).
(Also see ALTA’s Emerging Translator Mentorship Program, the deadline for which has passed.)
Claire Harris Poetry Prize: Goose Lane Editions
A new initiative of Goose Lane’s icehouse poetry imprint, the Claire Harris Poetry is designed to enhance the visibility of debut poetry collections by previously unpublished poets from Black, Indigenous, and other racialized communities. This prize will be presented biennially for a full-length debut collection. The prize includes “a cash award of $1,000, a contract for the publication of the collection under the icehouse poetry imprint in the following year (2025), and public readings in at least three Canadian cities”. This years judge is the poet and essayist Kazim Ali. They are open to submissions till March 31, 2024.
Cherry Lake: Own Voices, Own Stories Award
The Own Voices, Own Stories Award is eligible to new authors who write children’s books and identify as BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+. Applicants must be US residents. Only authors who have not had a previously traditionally published children’s book will be considered, authors must also be unagented at this time. Grand prize winners will receive a $2,000 cash prize, in addition to a publishing contract with advance and royalties standard for new Sleeping Bear Press authors. Honor award winners will receive a $500 cash prize as well as one consulting session with a Sleeping Bear Press editor. Full details are available at the site, and the deadline is April 30th.
Curtis Brown Creative UK
This established agency lists all their scholarship opportunities on the same page, which we linked above, and they regularly update those opportunities. These are their current available scholarships:
HW Fisher Novel-Writing Scholarship for Writers with Low Income:
This scholarship, will award one writer of limited financial means a place on their London-based Writing Your Novel – Three Months course. They close to applications on March 17th.
Breakthrough Scholarship for Screenwriters of Colour:
This screenwriting scholarship will enable a writer of colour with limited financial means to join the Writing an Original TV Drama Serial course which does not appear to be in person. The deadline is March 17th.
Breakthrough Scholarship for Short Story Writers with Low Income:
This short story scholarship will support a talented writer with limited financial means a place on their new Advanced Writing Short Stories course which also does not appear to be in person. The deadline is March 31st.
Breakthrough Scholarship for Memoir Writers with Low Income:
This scholarship will award one talented budding memoir writer with limited financial means a place on their online Writing Your Memoir – Three Months course. It will take place on Zoom. The deadline to apply is March 31st.
Pulitzer Center: Connected Coastlines Grants
This is an opportunity for US-based journalists. The Pulitzer Center is seeking applications from journalists who want to report stories as part of Connected Coastlines, a nationwide climate reporting initiative in U.S. coastal states. This initiative is building a consortium of newsrooms and independent journalists across the U.S. to report on the local effects of erratic weather patterns on coastal populations using the latest climate science. “This opportunity is open to all U.S.-based journalists with a plan to publish or broadcast their climate stories with a newsroom based in a U.S. coastal state or region. We strongly encourage proposals from journalists and newsrooms who represent a broad array of social, racial, ethnic, underrepresented groups, and economic backgrounds.” And, “We are eager to receive proposals from staff journalists and freelancers who wish to report on coastal stories, underpinned by recent climate science, data, or research, for publication or broadcast by small and regional news outlets in U.S. coastal states.” They prioritize proposals that can be completed, including publication, in 1-4 months. The ideal range for most awards will be $2,000 to $8,000. Grants are open now and approved on a rolling basis.
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.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine.
