Deadline Extended CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for the Anthology Black Fire—This Time

Deadline Extended CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

For the Anthology

Black Fire—This Time

Willow Books is pleased to announce a call for submissions for the anthology Black Fire—This Time, which pays homage to the anthology Black Fire, edited by Amiri Baraka and Larry Neal. Black Fire, published in 1968, is considered the defining work of the Black Arts Movement.

Black Fire—This Time seeks to further explore the profound and timely messages of Black self-determination and Black Power espoused in Black Fire. Commissioned by Alameda County Women's Hall of Fame inductee Dr. Ayodele Nzinga, producer of BAMBDFest 2020 (a multi-day festival in celebration of the Black Arts Movement), the anthology’s editorial team will be led by Dr. Kim McMillon, producer, playwright and upcoming Willow author (Voyages). McMillon is a contributor to the anthology Some Other Blues: New Perspectives on Amiri Baraka (Ohio University Press, 2021). She also produced the Dillard University-Harvard’s Hutchins Center Black Arts Movement 2016 Conference in New Orleans, and with UC Merced’s Center for the Humanities, ASUCM, and the Office of Student Life, Ms. McMillon co-produced the 2014 UC Merced Black Arts Movement Conference, Fifty Years On.

Black Fire—This Time encourages submissions that explore the intersectionality between the Black Arts Movement and Black Lives Matter, laying bare the legacy of systemic racism on Black Americans. The term “Black is Beautiful” rose out of the Black Arts Movement, and as such, the editors encourage work that explores the beauty and power in Blackness.

Accepted works will appear in print and online editions of the anthology, set to be released in the summer of 2021. Contributors will be invited to appear in scheduled readings. A section of the anthology will be geared explicitly to the voices of up-and-coming black artists who recognize their connection to the Black Arts Movement. The anthology will also pay homage to many of the 1968 Black Fire contributors by introducing their writings to a new generation of readers.

The submission categories are:

Essays

Fiction

Creative Nonfiction

Short Dramas

Poetry

About Willow Books:

Now in its 13th year, Willow Books is the flagship imprint of the award-winning Aquarius Press. Willow’s mission is to develop, publish and promote writers of color. In addition to publishing and providing professional development opportunities, Willow has created a platform for its authors to engage worldwide through workshops, conferences, streaming broadcasts and public readings. The imprint has published hundreds of poets and writers in anthologies and journals, including Cave Canem.

www.WillowLit.net

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

· The deadline for submissions is October 22, 2020.

· Please send your manuscript to  Kim McMillon at blackfirethistime@yahoo.com  and  kimmac@pacbell.net

· Poetry may not exceed 100 lines.

· Prose may not exceed 2500 words. Please use a standard 11-pt. font (such as Adobe Garamond or Times New Roman) with single-spacing after punctuation.

Please also upload a cover letter with complete contact information and a short bio. Contributors with previously-published work must handle all permissions arrangements with publishers and forward the permission information to the anthology editor.

Questions should be forwarded to Dr. Kim McMillon, blackfirethistime@yahoo.com