ROLLING
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ABOUT THE ANTHOLOGY
For our forthcoming anthology, we're interested in essays, works of fiction, and hybrid pieces that center the interior lives of Black women (cis and trans) and nonbinary folks in a global context. We invite Black writers of all nationalities to share their work on topics of international experiences, including themes of migration and long-term travel for self-exploration.
We’re seeking narratives about traveling the world, navigating unfamiliar terrain, and being an outsider. We want work that surprises us and shows unique experiences of Blackness. From studying abroad in Ireland, to moving to Indonesia, to having an epiphany after traveling to the Ivory Coast, we want to hear vulnerable, honest, and/or funny stories that grapple with belonging, otherness, identity, and (mis)understanding. What has venturing elsewhere taught you about yourself? About community? About belonging? What does it mean to become a part of a place? What does it mean to re-discover home or become disillusioned by what you imagined a place to be?
Share your stories about visiting places, staying longer term, and/or immigrating. We’re open to full manuscripts and pitches, and prefer submissions that are under 6,000 words. A strong pitch will include the themes and locations explored in your writing and a link to or sample of related work.
On a rolling basis, we're soliciting initial submissions that will be used to secure a publisher for the project. The anthology will be co-edited by Joy Notoma and Sheena Daree Romero. All contributors will be compensated at a rate that will be confirmed once a publisher is committed to the project.
Submit your pitches, drafts, and questions here.
We look forward to spending time with your work.
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THE EDITORS & THEIR WISHLISTS
Joy Notoma, Fiction Editor Planted in Nigeria. Grown in South Carolina. Blossomed in Brooklyn. Blooming in the warmth of other suns. |
Joy is a fiction writer and journalist.
She is a 2022 Kimbilio fellow, a 2023 Roots.Wounds.Words fiction fellow and was a finalist for the Epiphany Zine Fresh Voices Fellowship for emerging writers. Her fiction has been workshopped at Tin House and The Hurston/Wright Foundation. Her writing has been featured in The Woodward Review, Longreads, Catapult, and elsewhere and is forthcoming in Ploughshares.
Joy calls Toulouse, France home where she lives with her husband and their luminous toddler. She moved to France after working as a journalist in Benin Republic and still keeps her feet in both worlds.
instagram // twitter // website
“I’m looking for fiction that ventures beyond the conventions of storytelling. I like work that surprises me, whether in form or structure or in unique character flaws or twists in narrative. I also would love to read work that veers into speculative or afro-futuristic terrain. I appreciate fiction that examines Blackness in unique ways, and because this is an anthology that deals with various aspects of foreignness, stories with a strong sense of place and a clear, compelling narrative voice are essential. Some of my favorite contemporary novels that involve immigrant experiences and a sense of otherness are We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo and Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. In short fiction, I enjoyed the strong sense of place and narrative voice of “Dollhouses” by Monic Ductan in Kweli Journal, and the element of surprise in “I Won’t Let You Go” by Hiromi Kawakami in Granta. |
Sheena Daree Romero, Non-fiction Editor Started in Ohio. Survived 1000 days in Vermont. Subsisting in Washington Heights. |
Sheena is an essayist, humorist, and doodler..
Her writing has been published in Ms. Magazine, Autostraddle, and elsewhere, featured on Longreads Best of 2022 list, and nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best Small Fictions Anthology.
Sheena is a Brooklyn Public Library Incubator grantee, Columbia University Provost Diversity fellow, and a Margolis Social-Justice Journalism Award finalist, and has received support from Hedgebrook, Lambda Literary, Kimbilio, VONA, and other literary organizations.
She’s studied and/or worked in nine countries across four continents, and six U.S. states, but has been in NYC for the last five years.
“From the narrative to the lyrical to the woah-I-haven't-seen-this-before, I'm seeking non-fiction in all of its traditional and experimental forms. I want to see work that confronts, exposes, reveals, and connects, while using a distinct voice to do so. In line with the theme of this collection, I'm hoping for pieces that unearth the shifting relationship between the disparate places wherein we find ourselves and the worlds we carry within us. Personal writing and critical essays are both welcome. If you are interested in bringing in biography, research, or other reporting that speaks to the anthology's theme of Blackness and place, I look forward to it, so long as there’s a strong autobiographical component. And, p-l-e-a-s-e, nothing that belongs in a scholarly journal.” Some noteworthy examples of this: Love by Sharon Dodua Otoo, in TRANSIT Your Homeland is Our Nightmare Midnight in Trabzon by Brittany White, in Hennepin Review My Very Personal Taste of Racism Abroad by Nicole Phillip, in New York Times Lolita, #MeToo, and Myself, by Morgan Jerkins, in Lolita in the Afterlife Lessons in Killing for the Black Buddhist Nun by Faith Adiele, in Creative Nonfiction |
Submit your pitches, drafts, and questions
Questions
What do you mean by hybrid?
We mean work that extends beyond or challenges traditional category and genre definitions. Maybe your work incorporates visual elements or takes on other formats. Please note that all included work will be printed in a physical book, so we’re not open to audio or video submissions for this project.
Who do you hope submits work?
Emerging and established writers who are Black women (cis and trans) and nonbinary folks and have something to say about place, belonging, and moving through the world. This anthology aims to spotlight Afro-diasporic writers from all nationalities and geographical relations.
When can I expect a response?
We’ll be reviewing pieces as they come in and responding as quickly as we can, but response times will vary based on the number and quality of submissions. If we don’t think your work is a fit for this project we’ll communicate that as timely as possible, so you can find another home for it. We promise to respond to everyone. Thank you for your patience.
Help. I need to update something I submitted.
You should be able to access your submitted form and make the change. Kindly also drop a line to us at editors.joyandsheena@gmail.com, so that we don’t miss your changes.
Are you open to simultaneous submissions? Can I submit more than one piece?
Yes and yes. If your work is placed elsewhere, kindly let us know. Depending on where it’s placed, your interest, and our publisher’s guidelines, we may even still be able to include it in the anthology.
What about work that’s been published elsewhere?
Check to make sure reprints are allowed, if so share it with us, with details about where it was originally published. We’re hoping for the anthology to primarily consist of new work, but there may be room for a handful of exceptions.
When and where is this anthology going to be published?
We don’t know yet. We’re working on a proposal that will include a few stellar pieces from this call. That will be used to help us secure a publisher who is as excited about the project as we are. We’ll keep you updated.
What sort of compensation can contributors expect?
We don’t know yet. This also depends on the publisher.
What are you going to call the anthology?
We’ll decide this once we have a better idea of what sort of work will be in it.
How long will you be open to submissions?
Again, we just don’t know! That said, we encourage you to submit sooner than later if this anthology is something you really want to be a part of.