The Community of Literary Magazines and Presses speaks with Torch Literary Arts' founder/executive director, Amanda Johnston, about TORCH and what's ahead.
Published Oct. 18, 2022
Excerpt from the spotlight.
TORCH recently updated its publishing model. Can you tell us about your new features and the writing you’re interested in championing?
The pandemic showed us that support for writers, especially Black women and women of color, is needed now more than ever. Part of our relaunch this year included increasing our publishing opportunities and paying all accepted features going forward. For TORCH, we now curate a Monthly Feature spotlighting a more established writer, as well as Friday Features selected from the submissions we receive from around the world. We publish up to 64 Black women writers annually this way and will add special features on occasion.
We seek submissions of original poetry, fiction, hybrid genres, drama, and screenplays. Send us work that takes risks and pushes the boundaries of what creative writing can do. Surprise us! Share stories that pull the reader in and poems that conjure images that electrify the imagination.
Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit established to publish and promote creative writing by Black women. We publish contemporary writing by experienced and emerging writers alike. TORCH has featured work by Toi Derricotte, Tayari Jones, Sharon Bridgforth, Crystal Wilkinson, Patricia Smith, Natasha Trethewey, Elizabeth Alexander, and others. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats.