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.
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 from the previous month. 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
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.)
just femme & dandy: Time Travel
just femme & dandy is a biannual literary & arts magazine for and by the LGBTQIA+ community on fashion; they want work on the ‘Time Travel’ theme. They have detailed guidelines, including, “We want to hear about the historical figures that informed your developing queer/trans styles, what you imagine for our queer future. Think Queerasures & Queertopias: Past, Present, and In Futurity! We’re particularly interested in receiving submissions that considers queer fashion, past, present, or future in terms of climate change and fashion’s role in (un)sustainability. We would love to hear from up and coming drag artists and independent fashion designers. You are welcome to send us submissions outside of the theme, but submissions that relate to the theme are highly encouraged. We accept anything that can be displayed on a website: poetry, fiction, nonfiction, tutorial, illustration, comix, photography, painting, video, drag, costume/fashion designs, hot takes, interviews, and so on!” They pay $50 per text-based submission and up to $150 per multimedia submission (video, photography, image + text, fashion spread + interview, etc.). The submission deadline is 15 January 2024.
Apparition Lit: Blight
Apparition Lit is a quarterly speculative fiction and poetry magazine. “Speculative fiction is weird, almost unclassifiable. It’s fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and literary.” They run themed issues. They usually have a two-week open submission period for all writers every quarter, which extends by a week for BIPOC writers; also see the note about their equity initiative in the guidelines here (scroll down) – “Our submission window will remain open for an additional week each quarter for writers who identify as BIPOC and self-identify in their cover letter.
We will also accept simultaneous submissions from writers who identify as BIPOC or LGBTQIA+. Please just note how you identify in your cover letter, that it is a simultaneous submission.” They will accept submissions on the ‘Blight’ theme from 15th to 30th November from all writers, and the extended submission window for BIPOC writers will be open for a week after that. Length guidelines are 1,000-5,000 words for fiction, up to 5 poems, and pay is $0.05/word for fiction, and $50/poem. Details here and here.
(They also publish flash fiction online on monthly prompts, during the first fortnight of every month.)
Decapitate!
This magazine, from Third Estate Art, was formerly called Quaranzine. “Third Estate Art is an arts collective that seeks to create and promote connections between art and social justice. Everything we publish in Decapitate must be related to a social justice theme in some way. Think climate change, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQIA+ rights, feminism (intersectional or GTFO), disability rights, our descent into fascism, abolishing ICE, and so on. The possibilities are—unfortunately—endless.” And, “We’ll take submissions of stories, essays, Bandcamp links, visual art, artist talks, performances, instructional videos, comics, poems, and anything else that we can reasonably put into this format.” They’ll publish weekly. Also see the website for the kind of submissions they actively seek, and what to avoid. Pay is $25, and the deadline is 14 November 2023. Details here.
Rough Cut Press: Withhold
They publish short prose from the LGBTQIA community, and have monthly themed submission calls. During November, they want short prose submissions (up to 650 words) on the ‘Withhold’ theme. They pay $25. The deadline is 27 November 2023.
Room Magazine: Bodies
They publish fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and art by folks of marginalized genders, including but not limited to women (cisgender and transgender), transgender men, Two-Spirit and nonbinary people. They will begin accepting submissions on the Bodies theme starting 15th November, and the deadline is 5th January 2024; submission will be via Submittable. “We’re seeking writing about touch and isolation, trans and queer embodiment, fat liberation, chronic illness and disability, brutality, sensuality, and other meditations on the bones and muscles you inhabit every day.
What words live in the relationship between your body and other bodies? Between your body and the land beneath it? Explore what it means to feel empowered and grounded in your body—and what it means to feel betrayed by it. Have you ever lost your body to dissociation? Or perhaps to transcendence? The body is a site of self-love, self-hate, and body neutrality alike: accepting loving odes, body horror, and everything in between.” Length guidelines are up to 3,500 words for fiction and creative nonfiction, and up to 5 poems. Pay is CAD50/page, up to CAD200 for print, and CAD75 for reviews and work accepted for online publication. Their Submittable will open for these entries during the reading period.
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.
Midnight & Indigo
They only accept work by Black women writers – speculative fiction, character-driven fiction, and essays. They pay $0.08/word for speculative fiction on their website and $200 for works compiled in their anthology, $100 for essays, and $0.08/word for other fiction. They are open to submissions till December 31, 2023 at 11:59 pm ET. Details here and here.
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.
Tint Journal
They only publish work by authors who speak English as a second or non native language. They publish original fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, as well as flash nonfiction and fiction. They also accept reviews, interviews, and profiles. They are not interested in works in translation, the work must be originally written in English. They close to submissions on November 30th.
New York Times: Modern Love
Modern Love is a nonfiction column in the New York Times. They want “honest personal essays about contemporary relationships. We seek true stories on finding love, losing love and trying to keep love alive. We welcome essays that explore subjects such as adoption, polyamory, technology, race and friendship — anything that could reasonably fit under the heading “Modern Love.” Ideally, essays should spring from some central dilemma you have faced. It is helpful, but not essential, for the situation to reflect what is happening in the world now.” Also, “Love may be universal, but individual experiences can differ immensely and be informed by factors including race, socio-economic status, gender, disability status, nationality, sexuality, age, religion and culture.” Send essays of 1,500-1,700 words. Modern Love has two submission periods, September through December, and March through June. Writers are paid. Send submissions to modernlove (at) nytimes.com. They especially welcome work from historically underrepresented writers, and from those outside the US. Details here.
(Also see their Tiny Love Stories column; these are also personal essays similar in theme to Modern Love, but much shorter, of 100 words.)
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.
Jelly Bucket
Published annually by Bluegrass Writers Studio, the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Eastern Kentucky University, Jelly Bucket accepts works of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, as well as visual art. They are reading for a special issue with a section focused on neurodivergent writers. The work chosen for this issue will be published in summer 2024. Currently submissions for this issue are free, and close on December 14th.
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 – flash fiction, short stories, memoir, poetry, and art, as well as interviews and reviews (for interviews and reviews, query first via webform – see guidelines). Send up to 3,000 words for fiction, up to 2,000 words for memoir, or 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 in November, although these sometimes close early if a cap is reached. Fee-free submissions for Black writers are open till mid-December. Details here and here.
NonBinary Review
They are open to submissions from everyone on the theme ‘Old Friends’ (deadline end-January, 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 ‘Species’ theme, 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 Laces
A 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.
Class Collective
Their website says, this is “An annual literary magazine that illuminates the class struggle(s) hidden in the shadows of our culture.” They accept submissions from all writers. They publish poetry, including visual poetry (up to 5 poems), fiction (up to 5,000 words), essays (pitches and submissions), and commentary — writing that has a class-based perspective on politics and culture. Pay is CAD10 for poetry and CAD20 for prose. Submissions are open on a rolling basis.
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: Three themes
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 three themed calls, and they also invite suggestions for future themes.
— The Age of Innocence: Gay life in the time of Wilde
– The Great Transformation: From bar culture to hookup world
— 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.
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. (They also have a call for short historical fiction featuring Lim Ching Seong; pay is $100, and the deadline for that is 1 December 2023.)
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
Want That Twink OBLITERATED! Anthology
They want “pulp-inspired science fiction, fantasy and horror that explores or subverts classic genre tropes through queer protagonists and villains, particularly those who are non-traditionally masculine.” They have detailed guidelines, including, “IWTTO! is seeking classic pulp adventures centring non-traditionally masculine queer heroes and villains. … Whether fantasy, science-fiction or horror, we want to prove that hetero himbos don’t hold a monopoly on giant swords. We want out and proud thrill-rides starring queers who don’t give a fuck what society says. Smash systems, kiss boys, be gay do crime. … Bring us your femboy starship captains, bring us to trans berserkers fuelled by queer rage, bring us your literal demon twinks. Most of all, bring us stories that make you shriek…” And, “The editors are particularly interested in submissions from trans, non-binary, or intersex writers; aro or ace writers; disabled writers; neurodiverse writers; black, south asian, or east asian writers; or other writers of colour.” Pay is $0.08/word for stories up to 6,000 words (see guidelines for their preferred length). The deadline is 17 December 2023. Details here and here.
Death in the Mouth Anthology
This is a “horror anthology series showcasing BIPOC and other ethnically marginalized writers and artists from around the world! It will feature twenty prose stories spanning from the terrifying mythic past to the unnerving far future, real and fictive worlds, and explore unique and unsettling manifestations of horror.” The are accepting fiction submissions, and art portfolios. They want work from “Authors who identify as BIPOC or, outside of US-American context, anyone who is from a marginalized ethnicity (eg. Roma, Sámi, Nenets would also fall under this umbrella etc)”. Pay is $0.08/word for stories of 1,000-6,000 words. The deadline is 30 November 2023. Details here and here.
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.
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.
RIZE
An imprint of Running Wild Press, RIZE only focuses on publishing work by historically underrepresented authors. Their main focus is manuscript length genre work but they are also have an annual short story and novella anthology; see their Submittable for details.
Opportunities/Support/Contests
The African Poetry Book Fund Awards: Sillerman First Book Prize
This prize is for poets born in Africa, or who are nationals of an African country, or whose parents are African, and who have not yet had a full-length poetry book published (this includes self-published books if they were sold online, in stores, or at readings. Writers who have edited and published an anthology or a similar collection of other writers’ work remain eligible). Manuscripts have to be at least 50 pages long. Only poems written in English can be considered, but they accept poems in translation too. In the case that the winning work is translated, a percentage of the prize money would be awarded to the translator. Apart from a cash prize, the winner also gets publication from the University of Nebraska Press. Their Submittable is open for more than one prize, please be sure to submit in the correct category. The prize is $1,000, and the deadline is 1 December 2023. Details here (guidelines) and here (Submittable).
Ohio University: E.W. Scripps School of Journalism – 2024 Kiplinger Fellowship
This is an international journalism fellowship. “The Kiplinger Fellowship will be held April 14-20 at Ohio University and the Scripps School of Journalism. This upcoming fellowship will focus on the critical reporting topic of Immigration and Migration. If you are a working journalist with at least five years of experience covering this issue, please consider applying. The fellowship is made up of a combination of international and U.S. journalists. Kiplinger will pay all of your lodging and training for the week. We will cover most of your meals and a large percentage of your travel.” It is open for journalists in all media, and the deadline is 2 December 2023.
Grist Fellowships
These are opportunities for US-based journalists with a demonstrated interest in environmental issues – “the mission of the Grist fellowship program is to help underrepresented, early-career climate journalists gain a stronger foothold in our industry.” They have openings for 4 Fellows, in Environment Justice, Indigenous Affairs, Climate News, and Climate Solutions – click on each fellowship link on the main guidelines page to get details. It is a paid writing opportunity for 12 months. There are writing samples and other submission requirements for each fellowship. Applicants should have a four-year degree, or equivalent professional experience, and strong understanding of Grist’s brand. Writers can work remotely from anywhere in the US; they must have a US address, and be eligible to work in the US (see guidelines). The fellowship offers $55,000 annual base pay, other benefits, and mentorship, and the application deadline is 26 November 2023. Details here. See their FAQ here.
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.
Dragonblade Publishing: Historical Romance Contest
This is a contest for a historical romance manuscript, and they want submissions from all writers, including those writing LGBTQ+ romance. The first prize is $1,000 and publishing, and the deadline is 1 February 2024.
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.
Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She can be reached here.
