Killens Review Spring Edition: open till December 12th ; theme: environmental reckonings

[richardmurray]

See Your Work Published!



A Call for Submissions!

 

for the Killens Review of Arts & Letters 

(Spring 2026): Environmental Reckonings

 

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:

December 12, 2025, at 11:59 PM EST

 

 

 

The Killens Review of Arts & Letters is a peer-reviewed journal intended for an intergenerational range of African diasporic readers and the general public. For the Spring 2026 issue, the editorial team of the Killens Review seeks short stories, essays, creative nonfiction, poetry, art and photography. Inspired by the theme of the upcoming 18th National Black Writers Conference (NBWC), Expanding Conversations on Environmental Justice, Popular Culture, Resilience, and Peace, we are soliciting content that examines Black people's relationship with natural, social, and built environments, acknowledging that such distinctions are imprecise and deserving of criticism. We ask that Black creatives from all parts of the world submit original writing or art that, among other topics, addresses the intersections of the environment, Blackness and:

 

·Capitalism  ·Genocide   ·Climate Change  ·Animal Studies

 

·Community Health Outcomes   ·Indigeneity

 

·Technological Innovation ·Land Ownership and/or Stewardship

 

·Patterns of Global Migration and Expatriation

 

·Repression of Environmental Justice Work

 

·Intellectual and Activist Ecosystems*

 

*Medgar Evers College, the journal's intellectual home, is celebrating the centennial birthday of its namesake posthumously. Therefore, we hope to receive pieces created by authors and artists that address environmental concerns connected to the legacy of Medgar Evers, Mississippi, and/or the Black South.

- SUBMISSIONS GUIDELINES - 

(DEADLINE: December 12, 2025, at 11:59 PM EST). 

 

Please submit to only one category: short stories, essays, creative nonfiction, poetry, art, photography, or interviews. Additionally, please submit work that is aligned with the current theme.

 

Unless otherwise selected by the editors, we cannot publish work that has previously appeared elsewhere in print or on the web. Also, please do not submit writing or artwork that has been generated by artificial intelligence.

Notes for Submitting for the Fiction, Nonfiction, Essay, or

Interview Category

 

1. Please submit one piece at a time. We have no set or minimum length for prose submissions. Average word count: 2,000–3,000 words. 

 

2. Please use Microsoft Word format, a letter-sized page. 

 

3. Use one-inch margins on all sides. Line spaces should be double-spaced. 

 

4. Use a standard typeface (e.g., Times New Roman) and use the 12-point font size.

 

5. Make sure the pages are numbered. 

 

6. On the first page of your submission, be sure to include:

 

✔ Your full name 

 

✔ Title of the work

 

✔ A two- to three-sentence professional biography

 

✔ Telephone number 

 

✔ Email address 

 

7. If the submission is an academic essay with references, please include a bibliography.

 

8. Email material to info@centerforblackliterature.org and please write “Killens Review Spring 2026” in the email message’s subject heading. 

Notes on Submitting for the Poetry, Art, or Photography Category 

 

1. Poetry: Please send up to three poems only. 

 

2. Art and Photography: We welcome all types of visual and image submissions. Please include a short note about the context of the visual or image and caption information, if relevant. Please include no more than six hi-res JPGs (at 300 dpi). 

 

3. Email material to info@centerforblackliterature.org and please write “Killens Review Spring 2026” in the email message’s subject heading. 

 

4. On the first page of your submission, be sure to include: 

 

✔ Your full name 

 

✔ Title of the work

 

✔ A two- to three-sentence professional biography

 

✔ Telephone number

 

✔ Email address 

 

The material in this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the Center for Black Literature. The Killens Review of Arts & Letters cannot be held responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, or artwork that do not follow the guidelines. 

 

 

CONTACT US 

Address: 1650 Bedford Avenue | Brooklyn, New York 11225 

 

Email: info@centerforblackliterature.org Phone: 718-804-8884 



Website: www.centerforblackliterature.org