richardmurray

http://centerforblackliterature.org/call-for-submissions-springsummer-2016-killens-review-of-arts-letters-deadline-feb-1-2016/ Call for Submissions: Spring/Summer 2016 Killens Review of Arts & Letters. Deadline: Feb. 1, 2016 Call for Submissions Killens Review of Arts & Letters Spring 2016 Embracing Difference Please send your submissions no later than February 1, 2016, to “Spring 2016 Killens Review” (in the subject line) to writers@mec.cuny.edu. The theme of the Thirteenth National Black Writers Conference, “Writing Race, Embracing Difference,” is indeed an engaging and inviting one. Writers of the African diaspora have worked in earnest for decades to compose text that represents African-American experiences in its complex and various conditions. As stated with regard to the National Black Writers Conference: “If one is to write what one knows, then that writing will represent their perspectives and points of views of racial, cultural, and geographical space in the world.” More recently within genres such as sci-fi, mystery, historical fiction, and biography, writers of the African diaspora have connected the experiences of Black America with a broader appeal. Pulitzer Prize-winning writer James Alan McPherson, author of Elbow Room and Hue and Cry, once commented in an interview: “I’m going to be called a Black writer until I die. But the point is that when I write at my best I try to look for the human situation….” The programming for the 2016 Conference came about as the result of wanting to examine how and whether Black writers “write texts” knowing they are creating works out of spaces that are constructed by race i.e. is race at the core of the works of Black writers, no matter how candid or subtle. For the Spring 2016 issue of the Killens Review of Arts & Letters, we want to continue that exploration of “writing race, embracing difference” in the works of Black writers. Under the theme “Embracing Difference,” we seek submissions of fiction, essays, poetry, memoir, and artwork in which writers and artists create works that embrace race and differences with regard to the aesthetics, belief systems, politics, sexual identity, and cultural heritage that are reflected in the narratives and texts they compose. The Killens Review of Arts & Letters is a peer-reviewed journal that welcomes Black poets, novelists, short story writers, playwrights, journalists, essayists, scholars, yet-to-be discovered writers, and artists whose literature and artwork speak to the general public and to an intergenerational range of readers represented throughout the African Diaspora. Submission of Material The Killens Review of Arts & Letters is published once or twice a year by the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY. The Killens Review seeks book reviews, essays, short stories, creative nonfiction, art, poetry, and interviews related to the various cultural, sociopolitical, and historical experiences of writers and artists from the African diaspora. The aim is to provide well-known and lesser-known authors as well as educators and students opportunities to create and expand the canon of literature produced by people of color. While the Killens Review of Arts & Letters welcomes unsolicited material, we prefer to publish original material, i.e. first-ever publication. Unless otherwise selected by the editors, we cannot run a piece that has previously appeared elsewhere in print or on the Web. Please submit to only one category at a time: essay, fiction, interview, poetry, prose, and art. We aim to respond to your submission within two months. Essay, Fiction, and Prose Please send one piece at a time. We have no set maximum length or minimum length for prose submissions. (The average word count is about 1,500–2,000 words.) Most submissions, however, are between 2,000 – 4,000 words. Please set up your submission in letter-sized format, with ample margins, double-spaced, using a standard typeface (e.g., Times New Roman, Helvetica, Arial) and font size (12 point is best). Include your name, title of the work, and page numbers on your submission. Also include a one- to two-sentence bio about the author. If the submission is an academic essay with references, please include your bibliography at the end. Please do not submit book manuscripts. Poetry: Please send up to three poems. Art and Photography: We welcome all types of image submissions. Please include a short note about the context of the images and title and/or caption information. Please include no more than six hi-res jpegs (at 300 dpi). Electronic and Postal Submissions Kindly e-mail material to writers@mec.cuny.edu with “Fall 2015 Killens Review” in the subject heading. Please include a brief introduction of yourself and of the work being submitted. On the first page of your submission be sure to include: 1. Your name 2. Telephone number 3. E-mail address Please make sure the pages are numbered. Or mail material to: Center for Black Literature Medgar Evers College, CUNY 1650 Bedford Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11225 RE: Killens Review Material will only be returned if the sender includes a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE). ----------------------------------- Submission of Materials: The Killens Review of Arts & Letters is published once or twice a year by the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY. The Killens Review seeks book reviews, essays, short stories, creative nonfiction, art, poetry, and interviews related to the various cultural, sociopolitical, and historical experiences of writers and artists from the African diaspora. The aim is to provide well-known and lesser-known authors as well as educators and students opportunities to create and expand the canon of literature produced by people of color. Please submit to only one category at a time: essay, fiction, interview, poetry, prose, and art. We aim to respond to your submission within two months. Electronic and Postal Submissions Kindly e-mail material to writers@mec.cuny.edu and CReynolds@mec.cuny.edu with "Killens Review" in the subject heading. Please include a brief introduction of yourself and of the work being submitted. On the first page of your submission be sure to include: 1. Your name 2. Telephone number 3. E-mail address Please make sure the pages are numbered. Please visit our website detailed submission guidelines at: www.centerforblackliterature.org/KillensReview

NBWC Poetry Café Auditions Calling all Emerging Poets & Spoken-Word Artists! http://centerforblackliterature.org/auditions-for-the-7th-nbwc-poetry-cafe/ This is your opportunity to shine! A live audition will be held for this event in February 2016. Online submissions will be accepted through January 31, 2016. This is a New Talent event. No artists with books printed by mainstream publishing houses. Groups and Individuals accepted. Criteria: Originality, Performance, and Content. When: Tuesday, February 9, 2016 (subject to change) Time: 6:30 pm – 9 pm Where: Edison O. Jackson Auditorium Medgar Evers College, CUNY 1638 Bedford Avenue (Academic Building 1) RSVP’s for the live audition must be made by: FEB. 5, 2016 Guidelines: At the live audition: • Auditions are open to unpublished writers (via mainstream). • Each performer will be asked to sign-in upon arrival to confirm your space. • Walk-in’s must sign up by 7 PM. • There is a 3 min. limit for each person/ group auditioning. Subway directions to Medgar Evers College, CUNY: No. 2, 3, 4, 5 trains to Franklin Avenue station. The audition winners will perform at the 7th NBWC Poetry Café on March 31, 2016. 13th National Black Writers Conference dates March 31 – April 3, 2016. Online auditions: copy and paste this link into your browser: https://filmfreeway.com/festival/NBWCPoetryCafeAuditions2016 Online submissions should be no longer than 3 minutes. Very Important: • All winners will be notified by February 26, 2016. • You will NOT BE NOTIFIED if you have not been selected. • If you live in the NYC area, we encourage the live audition. If you are certain you cannot attend the live audition, your electronic submission will be admissible. NBWC Poetry Café Date: Thursday, March 31, 2016 Time: 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM Co-Sponsored by Brooklyn Public Library Central Branch 10 Grand Army Plaza Brooklyn, NY 11238 718-230-2100 FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Join our mailing list, “follow” us on Twitter, or “like” us on Facebook to receive up to the minute news! Produced by: Wendy Robinson & Fun Tillery (of “Sunday Funday”) www.centerforblackliterature.org http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/locations/central RSVP below: http://centerforblackliterature.org/auditions-for-the-7th-nbwc-poetry-cafe/ Call for Papers NBWC 2016- The Deadline is January 15, 2016! http://centerforblackliterature.org/call-for-papers-nbwc-2016/ CALL FOR PAPERS 13th National Black Writers Conference “Writing Race, Embracing Difference” March 31, 2016 – April 3, 2016 Conference Location: Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York Sponsored by the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College In her classic essay Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination, Toni Morrison writes that although the habit of ignoring race may be desirable and generous, “A criticism that needs to insist that literature is not only ‘universal’ but also ‘race-free’ risks lobotomizing that literature and diminishes both the art and the artist.” This desire to ignore race is turned upside down in the critique of Rita Dove’s editing of The Penguin Anthology of 20th-Century American Poetry. Helen Vendler, a Harvard professor and literary critic, lambasted former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove for her inclusion of “some 175” poets and for her choice of poems: “mostly short” and “of rather restricted vocabulary” in the anthology and states that “Multicultural inclusiveness prevails….” The 13th National Black Writers Conference (NBWC) “Writing Race, Embracing Difference” places the issues of race and difference at the forefront of the literature produced by Black writers and provides for writers, scholars, literary agents, editors, publishers, students, academics, and the general public to examine these themes through panel discussions and roundtables. We invite interested faculty, independent researchers, and students to submit proposals for papers focused on the conference theme and panels or in the literature and work of our conference honorees: Rita Dove, Edwidge Danticat, Michael Eric Dyson, Charles Johnson, and Woodie King Jr. The year 2016 marks the centennial of the birth of author and educator John Oliver Killens, founder of the National Black Writers Conference. Since 1986, the National Black Writers Conference has been held at Medgar Evers College to bring together writers, critics, booksellers, book reviewers, and the general public to establish a dialogue on the social responsibility of the Black writer and the emerging themes, trends, and issues in Black literature. As we celebrate his birth in 2016, we welcome proposals on the literature and works of John Oliver Killens. The Presentation of Papers will be held during the Conference on Thursday, March 31, 2016. Conference Theme: “Writing Race, Embracing Difference” in the Literature of Black Writers Conference Panels: Afrofuturism: Reimagining the Past, Present, and Future Decoded: Hip-Hop and Youth Culture The Politics of Race and Psychology in the Literature of Black Writers The Impact of War, Disaster, and Global Crises in the Literature of Black Writers Creating Dangerously: Courage and Resistance in the Literature of Black Writers A one- or two-page proposal with references should be submitted by January 15, 2016. Please include name and contact information on the title page. Please submit to: writers@mec.cuny.edu, cc: bgreene@mec.cuny.edu with “2016 NBWC Call for Papers” in the subject line. Volunteer Sign-up Form: 2016 National Black Writers Conference http://centerforblackliterature.org/volunteer2016nbwc/ CONTACTS: Volunteer Coordinator – Joylyn Philip 718-270-4893 / email: jphillips@mec.cuny.edu Conference Logistics Coordinator – Maēshay k. Lewis, Center for Black Literature- 718-804-8882/ e-mail: mlewis@mec.cuny.edu Volunteer GUIDELINES The Center for Black Literature invites volunteers to assist the NBWC at the Medgar Evers College Campus on the following dates: Day 1- Thursday, March 31 from 10:00 am – 9:00 pm (day times are tentative); Day 2- Friday, April 1, from 8:00 am to 10:30 pm; on Day 3- Saturday, April 2, from 9:00 am to 10:30 pm, and Day 4- Sunday, April 3, 2016 from 10:00 am to 6:30 pm. Breakfast and lunch will be provided by NBWC. REQUESTED: Volunteers are asked to commit a minimum of 8 hours over the 4 day conference in addition to orientation. (Most volunteer hours are scheduled in 4 hour blocks unless otherwise indicated.) Attire: Black and White – business or business casual acceptable. No denim or mini –skirts. Please wear comfortable footwear. You must attend at least one of the scheduled orientations before the conference and provide contact information for both day and evening hours. Dates are forthcoming and will announced no later than January 2016. Volunteers will begin setting up between 8:00 am – 9:00 am in order to be ready by 10:00 am for the National Black Writers Conference. Morning Registration Team and Facilitators are required to be on-site one hour before scheduled events. Volunteers must break down their table space (where assigned) and clear their area thirty minutes after closing on Thursday and Friday at 10:00 pm; Saturday, 9:00 pm and Sunday at 6:30 pm. Please begin dismantling and cleaning your area in time to comply with this directive. [Times are subject to adjustment.] Email this form Volunteer sign-up form_NBWC 2016 (http://centerforblackliterature.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Volunteer-sign-up-form_NBWC-2016.pdf) to the Volunteer Coordinator or complete electronically on the page whose link is following: http://centerforblackliterature.org/volunteer2016nbwc/

13th National Black Writers Conference "Writing Race, Embracing Difference" March 31, 2016 - April 3, 2016 We invite interested faculty, independent researchers, and students to submit proposals for papers focused on the conference theme and panels or in the literature and work of our conference honorees: Rita Dove, Edwidge Danticat, Michael Eric Dyson, Charles Johnson, and Woodie King, Jr. The year 2016 marks the centennial of the birth of author and educator John Oliver Killens, founder of the National Black Writers Conference. As we celebrate his birth in 2016, we welcome proposals on the literature and works of John Oliver Killens. A one- or two-page proposal with references should be submitted by January 15, 2016. Please include name and contact information on the title page. Read full description now ( http://centerforblackliterature.org/call-for-papers-nbwc-2016/ ). Please submit to: writers@mec.cuny.edu cc: bgreene@mec.cuny.edu with "2016 NBWC Call for Papers" in the subject line. Register Now! Have additional questions about the conference? Find the answer on our FAQ's page. 13th National Black Writers Conference "Writing Race, Embracing Difference" March 31, 2016 - April 3, 2016 We invite interested faculty, independent researchers, and students to submit proposals for papers focused on the conference theme and panels or in the literature and work of our conference honorees: Rita Dove, Edwidge Danticat, Michael Eric Dyson, Charles Johnson, and Woodie King, Jr. The year 2016 marks the centennial of the birth of author and educator John Oliver Killens, founder of the National Black Writers Conference. As we celebrate his birth in 2016, we welcome proposals on the literature and works of John Oliver Killens. A one- or two-page proposal with references should be submitted by January 15, 2016. Please include name and contact information on the title page. Read full description now ( http://centerforblackliterature.org/call-for-papers-nbwc-2016/ ). Please submit to: writers@mec.cuny.edu cc: bgreene@mec.cuny.edu with "2016 NBWC Call for Papers" in the subject line. Register Now! Have additional questions about the conference? Find the answer on our FAQ's page.

No , you fit with your people salaa:) never forget that. And, I will hold your hand if need be:)

Title:Harlem - June to November 2015 I am a child to Earth living side my peer, in a concentration in a night, I see... not from the Sun, many moon, shining ... many voice yell in the sky no horn or four horseman ride remind, a faint glimpse to a god kicking a free moon by know why, not I Out from the quiet Harlem Where the trees recall yesterday South from the modern Where the lights shine away... from the old song in the street Is a raccoon family Waiting for sapiens to segregate Tis a wait insane Waiting for: fish fry, jass, or roof... parties Them can not survive: mixing, security, or real estate But a darkling notice the scene He provide a path in the shade Just to a few from Harlem past... to find the Black Bath Walking outside, I ponder, where is wisdom, when the Sun can not wake me to see it, and... what can be seen from apartment 2B? concrete sequoia, surround every pane, even the baby thrush, needing parental sustenance, can't be known, and... we all ask, where with all is hope?... can I know in 9C? can enlightenment be, where no butterfly roam, even if I live or write every poem?... may I live near 2B... only down the hall, where you live in 4U, and maybe you can see or know, if you own, a pane or more from hope... will it sing, to my craft, as I walk... apartmentless, in the public dark The Trees or the Churches, are all that will stand Where is the tree that remember the land Does a church know where, the skulls from the first, was planted The collages from modern mancraft is disorganized, most ignorant I heard from one collagent ... The Pigeon who climbed a whole hill do not forget a sky never needing, to walk to one again ... do not forget an earth while sleeping to fly truly fly... to a rose beyond any sky do not forget a time when two sunflower , grow at first glance for one grow a short... distance yet, the shades them can not see prove:sky, earth, or time in chiaroscurhyme and!...this dummy still stand! pondering a turncoat dove ponderance I am comforted in knowing their finiteness though, I know a clear sadness for the collages everborn pretelling I will never know where stand the skulls, or the land What if a green speak to you one day do you think, it will speak to Giants colored grey or multicolor dirt from an annual day I say they are not signs... from the urban green not like those southern trees who know the bloodiest luxiery A salvadoran Rose, through my mind, once spoke to me We look at each other through a lens that is the moon after in the afternoon, a bluejay hope to find hopping up the fire escape to the top floor, why?! a rainforest on the third, or higher than Everest on the roof or maybe a query from the terrace fleur How do you find a place beyond time, is it galaxy wide, or smaller than an eye? Does a green, the Moon, or an avian know where it hide In a deep autumn night I think, what deep thought from those once cargo or more than likely, threw off did they saw life as hope, or a wrought did they trusted in nature, used her time as I have born in summer, a plethora from light... this fall beginning I was unwised, lived on the obvious prismal abuse suddenly pondering, why I suddenly dream to you you are not in a thought yesterday think yesterday has nothing from you? now nearest to the future what will winter be, these questions do you feel the sunlight when i do do you feel the rain are you surround between the night stars do you block their speak ... or the mirror to chaotic reality... silent fantasy from Richard Murray 2015 Check out my ebooks- the free one is noted, please read/enjoy/give me your response:Sunset Children Stories: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/sunset-children-stories Looking West and West: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/looking-west-and-west Janidogo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-janidogo The Gospel of Joseph: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/gospel-of-joseph The Nyotenda FREE : https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-nyotenda Includes a comic. The following link is an excerpt LINK

If you know a poet share this to them, the poet can be from anywhere, even though, the goal is defining statian poetry BETTERING AMERICAN POETRY 2015 http://www.blazevox.org/index.php/blog/bettering-american-poetry-2015-|-call-for-nominations-357/ CALL FOR NOMINATIONS EDITORIAL STATEMENT Our goal is to model a collaborative editorial venture that breaks with the anemic capitalizing tradition and goes ahead of institutional efforts that rank poems as the “best”. The “best” hides the subjective goals and values of the few determining what work should receive visibility and reward. The “best” implies that some voices should be prioritized over others. We wish to challenge the idea that a few gatekeepers should oversee the publishing order each year by actively defining and maintaining a hierarchy of voices, an order that replicates the status quo that tokenizes and marginalizes difference. Our efforts will intentionally shift favor so that the literary landscape within this anthology reflects a ranging plurality of voices in American poetry and illuminates the possibilities of sharing space. To this end, we have decided to call our endeavor Bettering American Poetry. For us, this means that rather than seek out the kind of work that best exemplifies “American poetry” as such, our task is to spotlight the poems that are working to radicalize and reinvigorate our American imagination. We feel that to “better” American poetry is to jam dominant systems of taste to the best of our abilities, and to resignify the very phrase “American poetry” with the languages that it so desperately lacks. We intend to center voices of resistance, subjectivities that emerge from the radical margins, artists whose Americanness transcends nationalism and other borders, perspectives historically denied institutional backing--in short, poets and poetries that are urgent and necessary but do not get along nicely with Power. And in this process, we recognize that “bettering” is, always, an ongoing act: it is a struggle against the obliterating forces of American history, politics, imagination and poetics. We don’t pretend it is possible to have finished bettering American poetry, which is why we dedicate ourselves to the task anew, daily. This anthology represents just one, concerted effort to better American poetry, but it is one that we hope will resonate. As editors, we share a collective spirit but represent an array of tastes, visions and desires. Please check out our bios below for a glimpse into our poetry predilections. Several of us have also made statements included in “What Is Literary Activism?” ( http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2015/08/what-is-literary-activism/ ) at Poetry Foundation. For an outline of poems we hope you’ll nominate, consider: We want work that is unafraid to look, to shake shit up, to speak. We are interested in poems that challenge patriarchal and white supremacist power structures. We love poems that burn misogynist, homophobic, ableist, transphobic, racist, xenophobic attitudes and behaviors at the core. Poems that critique the dominant culture and flummox the status quo, that speak with voices historically misrepresented, underrepresented, censored, and silenced make us sit up and listen hard. We want poetry that revolts, disobeys, mucks up the accepted order and betrays nepotistic allegiances. We long for poems that sting, love without fear and exist without fear. We want to swoon over your clashing engagements with the world. GUIDELINES ? Nominate poems published in 2015 in any format, small press ventures included. Send poems to BetterAmericanPoetry@gmail.com ? Include poet’s name, title of poem, date & title of publication the poem appeared in, and online link to the published poem or to the publication the poem appeared in. ? You may nominate your own work or someone else’s but please limit nominations to three poems. ? U.S. citizenship NOT required. ? Due to time & space constraints, please avoid nominating exceptionally long poems. ? Deadline to nominate is November 30, 2015. ? The anthology, BETTERING AMERICAN POETRY 2015, will be published in print by BlazeVOX Books in February 2016. EDITORS Kenzie Allen is a descendant of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin. She is a graduate of the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan where she was the recipient of Hopwood Awards in poetry and non-fiction, and she has been awarded an Emerging Writer fellowship to Aspen Summer Words and the Littoral Press Poetry Prize. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Iowa Review, Drunken Boat, SOFTBLOW, Apogee, Boston Review, and elsewhere, and she is the managing editor of the Anthropoid collective. She lives in Norway, and on her tribe’s reservation in Green Bay. Eunsong Kim is a doctoral candidate at the University of California, San Diego. Her essays on literature, digital cultures, and art criticism have appeared or are forthcoming in: The New Inquiry, Model View Culture, AAWW’s The Margins, Art in America, and others. Some of her poetry has been published or will be in: Denver Quarterly, Seattle Review, Feral Feminisms, Minnesota Review, Iowa Review, and Action Yes. Her first book will be published by Noemi press in 2017. Amy King’s forthcoming book, The Missing Museum, is a winner of the 2015 Tarpaulin Sky Book Prize. King joins the ranks of Ann Patchett, Eleanor Roosevelt & Rachel Carson as the recipient of the 2015 Winner of the WNBA Award (Women’s National Book Association). She serves on the executive board of VIDA: Women in Literary Arts and is currently co-editing with Heidi Lynn Staples the anthology, Big Energy Poets of the Anthropocene: When Ecopoets Think Climate Change. She is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at SUNY Nassau Community College. Jason Koo is the founder and executive director of Brooklyn Poets and creator of The Bridge. He is the author of America’s Favorite Poem (C&R Press, 2014) and Man on Extremely Small Island(C&R Press, 2009), winner of the De Novo Poetry Prize and the Asian American Writers’ Workshop Members’ Choice Award for the best Asian American book of 2009. He earned his BA in English from Yale, his MFA in creative writing from the University of Houston and his PhD in English and creative writing from the University of Missouri-Columbia. The winner of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Vermont Studio Center and New York State Writers Institute, Koo is an assistant professor of English at Quinnipiac University and lives in Williamsburg. David Tomas Martinez's debut collection of poetry, Hustle, was released in 2014 by Sarabande Books, winning the New England Book Festival's prize in poetry, the Devil's Kitchen Reading Award, and honorable mention in the Antonio Cisneros Del Moral prize. Features or reviews have appeared in Poets & Writers, Publishers Weekly, NPR's All Things Considered, NBC Latino, Buzzfeed, and many others. He is the reviews and interviews editor for Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts. He has been a Breadloaf and CantoMundo Fellow, and is finishing his Ph.D. in the University of Houston's Creative Writing program. Martinez is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of creative writing at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX. Airea D. Matthews is a 2015 Kresge Literary Arts Fellow. She is the Assistant Director of the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she earned her MFA. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming inBest American Poetry 2015, The Missouri Review, The Baffler, Callaloo, Indiana Review, WSQ, Kinfolks and Muzzle. Matthews' prose appears in SLAB, Vinyl, Michigan Quarterly Review and VIDA: Her Kind. She is the co-executive editor of The Offing, a channel of the Los Angeles Review of Books. Héctor Ramírez is a writer and teacher living in Boulder, CO. He received his B.A. in Literary Arts from Brown University and is currently an MFA candidate at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He reads fiction submissions for Timber journal and is an editor and staff writer at Vannevar(www.vannevar.net). His work has been published in The Café Irreal, Buffalo Almanack, American Book Review, The Poetry Foundation’s “Harriet” blog, and elsewhere. Metta Sáma is author of le animal & other creatures (Miel Books), After "Sleeping to Dream"/After After (Nous-Zot), Nocturne Trio (YesYes Books) & South of Here, published under her legal name, Lydia Melvin, by New Issues Press. Her poems, fiction, and creative nonfiction essays have been published in Heir Apparent, Valley Voices, Puerto del Sol’s Black Voices Series, Literary Hub, Kweli, bluestem, Apogee, All About Skin (edited by Jina Ortiz & Rochelle Spencer), Please Excuse This Poem: 100 Poets for the Next Generation (edited by Lynn Melnick & Brett Fletcher Lauer), among others. She has served as special guest editor for Reverie, Black Camera, RedLeaf Poetry Journal and North American Review. She serves on the advisory board of Black Radish Book and the Board of Directors at Cave Canem and VIDA and is a Fellow at Black Earth Institute. Sáma is the director of Center for Women Writers and an Assistant Professor and Director of Creative Writing at Salem College. Vanessa Angelica Villarreal's work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Poetry Foundation Harriet blog, The Feminist Wire, Caketrain, DIAGRAM, The Western Humanities Review, NANO Fiction, The Colorado Review Online, and elsewhere. She is a CantoMundo Fellow and her book, BEAST MERIDIAN, was a finalist at Nightboat, Futurepoem, Saturnalia, and Willow Books, and is forthcoming from Noemi Press in 2017. Her hometown is Houston, Texas. Nikki Wallschlaeger’s work recently has been featured in Storyscape Journal, Dusie, Fanzine, The Enemy, The Brooklyn Rail & others. She is the author of the chapbook I Would Be the Happiest Bird (Horseless Press) and her first full-length book of poems, Houses, also from Horseless Press in 2015. Her graphic chapbook I Hate Telling You How I Really Feel is forthcoming from Bloof books. You can reach her at http://nikkiwallschlaeger.com/

SOMETHING THIS WAY COMES ART CONTEST- from Black Art Society http://thenaughtypirate.deviantart.com/journal/Something-Wicked-This-Way-Comes-Oct-Contest-562677206 Dates: Contest Begins Bat : Bullets by AngelicHellraiser October 3rd, 2015 at 12PM Contest Ends Bat : Bullets by AngelicHellraiser October 31st, 2015 at 12PM Judging Bat : Bullets by AngelicHellraiser October 31st, 2015 at 1PM through November 4th, 2015 at 12PM All times are (CDST/5-GMT) Theme: Your submission will portray your own interpretation of the theme. Please read the infamous poem below and the definition of Wicked below as inspiration for your work. Full Definition of WICKED 1: morally very bad: evil 2: a: fierce, vicious <a wicked dog> b: disposed to or marked by mischief: roguish <does wicked impersonations> 3: a: disgustingly unpleasant: vile <a wicked odor> b: causing or likely to cause harm, distress, or trouble <a wicked storm> 4: going beyond reasonable or predictable limits: of exceptional quality or degree <throws a wicked fastball> Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury Crystal water turns to dark Where ere it's presence leaves it's mark And boiling currents pound like drums When something wicked this way comes... A presence dark invades the fair And gives the horses ample scare Chaos rains and panic fills the air When something wicked this way comes... Ill winds mark it's fearsome flight, And autumn branches creak with fright. The landscape turns to ashen crumbs, When something wicked this way comes... Flowers bloom as black as night Removing color from your sight Nightmarish vines block your way Thorns reach out to catch their prey And by the pricking of your thumbs Realize that their poison numbs From frightful blooms, rank odors seep Bats & beasties fly & creep 'Cross this evil land, ill winds blow Despite the darkness, mushrooms glow All will rot & decompose For something wicked this way grows... Contest Rules: Any BAS member may participate, with the exception of judges Acceptable entry formats: photomanipulation, digital art, mixed media, traditional, photography, artisan, original pixel art created without templates/bases Submit your entry (1) to our Contest Submissions Folder ( http://blackartsociety.deviantart.com/gallery/55806166/Contest-Submissions ) Submission should be your own best work that is representative of the chosen theme, ethnic diversity, and black art Submission must be new as of the beginning of the contest date and created for this contest Your artist description must include: proper stock credit where stock is used, a link to contest journal entry, and a link to BlackArtSociety ( http://blackartsociety.deviantart.com/ ) Any submission not following the contest, group and DeviantArt rules will be disqualified (helpful links below) Judging and Prizes: detail in contest page linked below Judges Choice Prizes: detail in contest page linked below Members Choice Prizes: detail in contest page linked below Contest Page - http://thenaughtypirate.deviantart.com/journal/Something-Wicked-This-Way-Comes-Oct-Contest-562677206 Donate to Black Art Society ( http://basdonations.deviantart.com/ )

*Women's Voices & Caribbean Literature* When Saturday September 19, 2015 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT Add to Calendar Where MoCADA 80 Hanson Place Brooklyn, NY 11217 _The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY, in Collaboration with Penguin Press and The Network Journal_ , Presents A Literary Salon "Women's Voices & Caribbean Literature" An Official Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend Event Saturday, September 19, 2015 MoCADA (Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts) 80 Hanson Place, Brooklyn, NY 11217 Time 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. RSVP NOW! ( http://centerforblackliterature.org/cblbookendevent2015/ ) This event is a fundraiser for the Center for Black Literature. General Donation: $10. Students: $5 Find this event on Facebook. ( https://www.facebook.com/events/506099399552813/ ) The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY, presents a literary salon with Naomi Jackson, "The Star Side of Bird Hill," in conversation with Rosalind Kilkenny McLymont, "The Guyana Contract," on the voices of women and Caribbean literature. #CaribWomenSalon2015 #BKBookFest2015 The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY Phone: 718-804-8883 E-mail: writers@mec.cuny.edu Like us: Like us on Facebook Center for Black Literature ( https://www.facebook.com/CenterforBlackLiterature ) Follow us: Follow us on Twitter@Center4BlackLit ( https://twitter.com/Center4blacklit )

"The Fantastical Firsts" Contest http://thenaughtypirate.deviantart.com/journal/The-Fantastical-Firsts-B-A-S-Contest-556576701 Dates Contest Begins September 5, 2015 at 12pm Contest Ends September 26, 2015 at 12pm Judging September 26, 2015 at 1pm through September 30, 2015 at 12pm All times are (CDST/5-GMT) Theme Our first contest, "The Fantastical Firsts", is the winning theme chosen by our members! Your submission will portray an image of people in a fantastical setting of your choice Genres may include: fantasy, sci-fi, steampunk, weird, post-apoc, myths, legends, folklore, faerie tales, etc "Fantastic art is a broad and loosely defined art genre. It is not restricted to a specific school of artists, geographical location or historical period. It can be characterized by subject matter – which portrays non-realistic, mystical, mythical or folkloric subjects or events – and style, which is representational and naturalistic, rather than abstract - or in the case of magazine illustrations and similar, in the style of manga. Fantastic art explores fantasy, "space fantasy" (a subgenre which incorporates subjects of alien mythology and/or alien religion), imagination, the dream state, the grotesque, visions and the uncanny." - via Wiki: Fantastic Art Contest Rules Any BAS member may participate, with the exception of judges. Acceptable entry formats: photomanipulation, digital art, mixed media, traditional, sculpture Submit your entry (1) to our Contest Submissions Folder (http://blackartsociety.deviantart.com/gallery/55806166/Contest-Submissions) Submission should be your best work that is representative of the chosen theme, diversity, and black art Submission must be new as of the beginning of the contest date and created for this contest Your artist description must include: proper stock credit where stock is used, link to contest journal entry, and a link to BlackArtSociety (http://blackartsociety.deviantart.com/) Any submission not following the contest, group and DeviantArt rules will be disqualified (helpful links below) More or total information use the link below http://thenaughtypirate.deviantart.com/journal/The-Fantastical-Firsts-B-A-S-Contest-556576701

It is very unfortunate his book when published will be posthumous. Yes, good spirit. Well, his spirit is still aside us and he can help guide those of us who may dither or fatigue.

My pleasure Troy. I did not even search to see if he had a profile in AALBC. I hope you post your thoughts to what was said concerning Brother Stephenson or the celebration to his life.

The Family of Brook Stephenson invites his friends and colleagues to join them for the New York memorial service: A Celebration of Life for Writer Brook Stephenson Saturday, August 29, 2015 2 PM Founders Auditorium Medgar Evers College, CUNY 1650 Bedford Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11225 (Between Crown & Montgomery Streets) Repast 3:30 PM Academic Building, Cafeteria - 2nd Floor Medgar Evers College, CUNY 1638 Bedford Avenue (At Crown Street) Let us know you plan to attend, RSVP via Facebook< https://www.facebook.com/events/1621684974775016/ >.(RSVP not required, but appreciated.) 1 PM - Join the traditional "Second Line" < https://www.facebook.com/events/493978690779689/ > Procession from Fulton St. & Nostrand Ave. to Medgar Evers College, CUNY. Lead by Joshua "Bee" Alafia. ***IN LIEU OF FLOWERS*** The family requests that you contribute to Brook's "baby", the Rhode Island Writer's Colony. Checks can be mailed to: Rhode Island Writer's Colony 64 Bridge Street Warren, Rhode Island 02885 www.brookstephenson.com < http://www.brookstephenson.com/ > #RestInPowerBrook Read articles from The Amsterdam News < http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2015/aug/20/brook-stephenson-emerging-author-dead-41/ > Official Obituary at BKReader < http://www.bkreader.com/2015/08/obituary-beloved-brooklyn-writer-brook-stephenson-passes-suddenly/ > When Saturday August 29, 2015 from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT Where Founders Auditorium Center for Black Literature Medgar Evers College, CUNY 1650 Bedford Avenue BROOKLYN, NY 11225

Interview from Black Girl Nerds showcasing Celfux from Dixi Ann Archer-McBain and Edward J. McBain Interviewer Joelle Monique EXCERPT If you’re into Inuyasha, Avatar: Legends of Korra, or Digimon (stick with me folks), Celflux might be for you. Issue two was just released by newcomers Dixi Ann Archer-McBain and Edward J. McBain, who are married. The creator’s website (http://celflux.com/) explains the book like this: “…a sci-fi, action-adventure, about OKIRA. A young, benevolent, kind-hearted priestess who becomes the involuntary leader of a disjointed group of strangers. They wake up one day in a remote lab without any memory of how they got there, or what happened to them.” http://blackgirlnerds.com/try-a-new-comic-celflux/ Interview to Dixi Ann Archer-McBain and Edward J. McBain from Jamie Broadnax EXCERPT Jamie: How long have you been working in the comics industry? Dixie Ann: We decided to start creating comics in September of 2013. We officially became part of the industry when our first book, Celflux Issue No.1, was published on October 30th, 2015. http://blackgirlnerds.com/comic-creators-you-should-know-dixie-ann-archer-mcbain-and-everard-j-mcbain-jr/ IF you are a comic book writer, editor, illustrator, or owner contact Black Girl Nerds to feature you on comic creators you should know series http://blackgirlnerds.com/contact-us/

We will hope or work to the best, never giving up. Gardless, we shall see:)

Troy The internet is changing, as I said before, in a post concerning competing to the larger , more well known, black owned websites. The structural aspect to the internet is not going to remain the same; I will not predict exactly the change form; I say in total surety the change will attack the linear model headlong; that model (a stack adding to the top the most recent, farthest from moment in the back) is why Amazon or other larger sites have said control or why the advertisement power from them occur, based on their rank quality; it is a simple system but it is evermore inappropriate as humanity grow more customed to the internet. Well, survival of the fittest is key. The large will be small one day, they may work themselves out of the ability to survive. No need for hope; positive change will come, even as grand like a miracle; the reason why? It must.

Troy Word of mouth or word from post is currently the best method; it is not the most reaching action in the current media environment; it is what is available. The Black Artist in the USA on average, historically or modernly, is rarely advertised; in the short term the, white owned ,fiscal corporations you stated are in control or are the primary path to fiscal fruition or knowledge concerning the Black writer; those secondary or lesser path, like AALBC, will exist aside; some like myself will do our best to help. In the long term, to the possibilities you stated, some of us will be able to stop holding our breath or all of us will see the remotely plausible; considering the nature to modern communication combined to regional culture iit may be sooner than either of us ponder.

My pleasure Troy I never watched the credits in Star Wars, though I recall James Earl Jones saying, in a Star Wars documentary (I paraphrase) : I played a very small role. As a writer in the fantastic fiction genre, I had or will frame the problem (science fiction phenotypical predominance) another way; I do not see the writing space dominated from white male sensibilities; I see the media space dominated from white male sensibilities; If I add the books in my home or in my knowledge, written from Black writers [published from Black owned publishing firm or not] concerning fables, to the stories from many Black fiction writers [more popular like Octavia Butler,may her spirit fly free, or lesser known like myself] I do not see science fiction absent enough work from the Black fiction writing race; the problem is the translation from their work into other media. Where as Philip K Dick had many stories from him made into movies or television shows[especially after his fiscally penniless death], no Black writer has a comparative history; that is problematic from a modern audience, phenotypically unbounded, that tend to use reference in one medium to gain interest in another medium (for example: the harry potter series was already popular before the movies yet gained more readers during or after the films). The answer is the big question going forward. One way or another the base to the answer involve Black owned film or television or online streaming services.

Interview to N.K. Jemisin from GoodReads Excerpt, link to full interview below Goodreads: In The Fifth Season the world is at the whim of apocalyptic earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides—and the select few who can control them. What inspired such a natural disaster-focused fantasy? N.K. Jemisin: I had a dream of a woman doing the "badass power walk" with a mountain falling behind her. And at that point I had to come up with an explanation: Why does this woman have a pet mountain? Why does she look like she's about to throw it at someone? And why do I get the sense that she can throw it at someone? And I've always been fascinated by seismic stuff in general, probably because I have grown up in parts of the country that had no mountains and no earthquakes. And volcanoes are cool as hell. Geysers are cool as hell. The idea that Yellowstone is this ticking time bomb is fascinating. Horrifying but fascinating! And I'm usually fascinated by horrifying things. It's a wonder I'm not a horror writer. Full Interview to N.K. Jemisin from GoodReads is below https://www.goodreads.com/interviews/show/1052.N_K_Jemisin?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=2015-08&utm_content=jemisin

Troy Thank you to providing the link. I concur wholeheartedly that the Kobo program will not be welcomed in the Black reading community wholesale. As I said to Myspace (in esocial environment), Kobo will be around forever in the same way. The global fiscal capitalistic model combine to modern media demand any firm that reach a certain level can retain a place as long as they are breaking even. Kobo will be around so, even if people trickle in, I am content in Kobo being around; that lead to the only issue Kobo has as a publishing house, the writers in house. As a writer, I feel writers have to do better. In the end, a publishing house is only as fiscally profitable or as well known balanced to the various author in it. Kobo was started late; it serve a particular market, a non english speaking market; it grew a little, remaining a minnow, and was bought into the Rakuten media empire, which is based in the non english speaking market. Inline, I comprehend the two main problem to Kobo: their general market is against the functional (whether accepted or not) global language, or their market is small. As a Black writer in their house, I have to cognize that in my books; my current project will be more considerate to this. Though, I am lucky to accept what all writer must accept: Poe only made profit from one work, his poem the Raven. No matter the literary quality in any work, the fiscal return need not reflect it. All a writer can do, in any house, is keep writing. And, so we push on Troy:) us minnows.

I like this program and as a Kobo author, I hope you all relate your local bookstore to this program. To be blunt, most Black owned Bookstore are local. The Kobo program is self serving, to bring positive finance to Kobo, yet it can give a small lift to a local bookstore. What is the name to one Black owned bookstore in the city you live in ? article link http://kobowritinglife.com/2015/07/09/eread-local-help-support-local-independent-bookstores/ associating a local bookstore <not barnes and noble> https://www.kobo.com/indieapp indiebound http://www.indiebound.org/spread-word

PLEASE PARTICIPATE OFFLINE OR SHARE ONLINE!!!!! IF you are in NYC or know someone in NYC who is willing to donate supplies, please read or share or be active in the following Community School Supply Fundraiser Sunday, August 16th 2015 Crotona Park East 1 p.m.

The Festival Latinidades is an annual event of nearly one week that highlights the experience of black women of Latin American and the Caribbean that takes place in Brazil’s capital city Brasília every year. It shines spotlight on talents and versatility of the feminine African Diaspora; scholars, intellectuals debate the position of black women and, now in its eighth edition, it is the largest black women’s festival in Latin America. Every year the event coincides with the July 25th celebration of the Afro-Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Day. If you know the festival location online, please inform me through a private message. Janaina Oliveira who attended this year Festival Latinidades The link below is an interview [in english] to Janaína Oliveira concerning her thought to Black cinema Article Link http://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2015/07/26/researcher-participates-in-debate-what-is-black-cinema-and-why-is-there-resistance-to-this-art-form/ The online channel Tá bom pra você? , showcased in Festival Latinidades The link below showcase Black Cultural Site online concerning Black Brazilian Culture : Cultne a digital online Black cultural library started or maintained from Don Filo http://www.cultne.com.br/ , Tá bom pra você? from Kenia Maria or Érico Brás https://www.youtube.com/user/brasbando Article Link http://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2015/07/26/with-a-theme-focused-on-black-cinema-and-representation-festival-latinidades-addresses-the-web-as-a-place-of-dialogue-and-resistance/

Goldest Karat Publishing is a Black Owned Children Book firm, designed to cater to the Black market exclusively, ala Boutique. I quote the firm: We are a boutique black-owned publishing company seeking to fill the diversity gap in traditional publishing by providing readers with high quality children's books featuring characters of African descent. All books are available in the Amazon network. The owner or main creator is Crystal Swain Bates http://www.goldestkarat.com/

Romance Writing Life Competition Calling any Romance Author who has a new work in the books. Official Link http://www.romancewritingcompetition.com/ Description Publishing giant Mills & Boon, high-street bookseller WHSmith, online eBook retailer Kobo along with the self-publishing platform Kobo Writing Life have partnered up to the end of offering the Romance Writing Life competition. The winning novelist will be awarded the grand prize of a publishing contract with Mills & Boon, including both print and digital release. The book will be jointly promoted by Kobo, Mills & Boon and WHSmith. Second and third prize winners will be awarded the brand new Kobo Glo HD. Authors will submit a synopsis and first chapter of their romance novel, up to a maximum of 5,500 words, which will be reviewed by a judging panel. The entry deadline is July 31st, 2015 To be eligible for this competition, the author must reside in the UK, Canada, or the United States. Every author must have an active Kobo Writing Life account to enter the competition. You can register for an account here. https://www.kobo.com/writinglife The submitted title should be an original, unpublished or self-published, fictional Romance novel, to which the author owns all the rights. We are accepting any and all Romance genres, including but not limited to Historical Romance, New Adult Romance, Contemporary Romance, and Paranormal Romance. Authors are required to submit a synopsis of no longer than 500 words, and the first chapter of the manuscript of no longer than 5,000 words. Though only the first chapter is required, the winner must be prepared to submit a full manuscript of 70,000 words or more to Mills & Boon on or about September 30, 2015. Read full Terms and Conditions here http://www.romancewritingcompetition.com/?page_id=241

Jornal Afronta - a new newspaper catering to the Black community in Minais Gerais Brasil- created from Etiene Martins I paraphrase the article: “Releasing Jornal Afronta is for me the realization of a dream. Many ask me, but why a black newspaper for blacks? And I answer, why does no one ask this question when they sees a newspaper made by whites for whites? Since we blacks are in ‘fashion’, as they say, we should gain prominence on the covers of newspapers and magazines, but it is for our deeds and achievements and not as criminals, imprisoned, killed or on the run,” Etienne emphasizes. ... The Black Women’s March, held in downtown Belo Horizonte on May 13, with 500 women from 65 Minas Gerais cities, is the cover story of the first issue of Jornal Afronta. Coverage of the event by the Minas Gerais press disappointed Etienne Martins; She said: “Some newspapers covered it and took lots of pictures, but the next day, when I picked up the O Tempo newspaper to check it out, there was a line on the cover about the subject, but the photo chosen was of two white women. For me it was the last straw and I found that it was necessary to launch a Minas newspaper to give appropriate visibility to black people,” Read more including an interview involving Jornal Afronta Publisher Etiene Martins. Article Link http://blackwomenofbrazil.co/2015/07/22/for-us-by-us-afronta-new-newspaper-in-minas-gerais-brings-black-faces-and-culture-to-media-outlets/ Afronta( http://www.afronta.org/ ) The organization helping to organize Jornal Afronta Note: they operate as the liason to Jornal Afronta through their contact facebook twitter Raca Brasil - Note: It is owned from Universo Online , UOL is owned from Grupo Folha, primarily owned from the Frias family. Sequentially, Raca Brasil is not a Black owned magazine. http://racabrasil.uol.com.br/ Release Party to Jornal Afronta