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$3.9 million in funds went to 36 local arts non-profit organizations through the Thrive Grant The City of Austin Cultural Arts Division of the Economic Development Department awarded more than $3.9 million in funds awarded to 36 local arts non-profit organizations through the Thrive Grant. These grant awards, ranging from $85,000 - $150,000, provide focused investment to sustain and grow arts organizations that are deeply rooted in and reflective of Austin’s diverse cultures. Torch Literary Arts is proud to be one of the inaugural recipients of the 2023-2024 Thrive Grant. This vital multi-year funding will support Torch's operational and programmatic needs to grow and sustain the organization. "These funds give Torch a chance to operate with secured resources in a way that affirms the work we do and the Black women writers we serve while preparing for the future," said Amanda Johnston, Torch Literary Arts' founder and executive director. Click here to learn more about the Thrive Grant, the other local arts organizations awarded, and additional funding opportunities. 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. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats. Help TORCH continue to publish and promote Black women writers by donating today.

Taylor Lauren Davis is a black American poet, attorney, and retired nurse. She is a graduate of Howard University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Her works have appeared in Poet Lore, Button Poetry, Rust + Moth, and elsewhere. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Davis is a proud Southerner. Follow Taylor on Instagram and Twitter. Retribution —for my oppressors I believe in hell Even more than I believe in heaven It is difficult To imagine a realm of light But brimstone Makes perfect sense Spare me Weedy details of grace & mercy Sound gospel should clear the way Like the metal tongue of a scythe Cutting down a dry & soulless field The wicked have sown Now, let them reap. ### 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. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats. Help TORCH continue to publish and promote Black women writers by donating today.

A look back at the relaunch of Torch Literary Arts in 2022 and a sneak peek at 2023. Dear friends, I hope this finds you well and easing into 2023 in good spirits. I can’t believe 2022 has already come and gone. So much good work happened at TORCH and I’m excited to keep it going in 2023. Torch Literary Arts has grown over this past relaunch year in ways we couldn’t have imagined. None of this would have been possible without the support of our amazing community. Below are some highlights from the year and a sneak peek into 2023. Thank you for showing up to support Torch Literary Arts and the Black women writers we serve. Please enjoy this poem as a small gift of appreciation and to celebrate all of the writers featured in 2022. "Conjuring" - a cento for TORCH by Amanda Johnston Onward together! Amanda Johnston Founder/Executive Director 2022 Recap + Relaunched with 501(c)3 nonprofit status. + Initiated a new publishing model that increased annual features of Black women writers across poetry, fiction, hybrid genre, and script with pay starting at $50 per piece. + Paid over 40 Black women writers and artists. + Welcomed our first Administrative Fellows - Lori Moses and Leah Tyus. + Presented a reading and panel at the [margins] conference with Sequoia Maner, Saida Agostini, Kindall Gant, and Amanda Johnston. + Became an official community partner with the Texas Book Festival and curated events with Remica L. Bingham-Risher and Destiny O. Birdsong. + Collaborated with The EcoTheo Collective and LOGOS to present Deep In The Heart: An Evening with Natalie Graham, Remica L. Bingham-Risher, and Destiny O. Birdsong. + Provided 3 workshops at no cost for women of color: Affirmations from the Body with Anastacia-Renee, Spoken Word and the Recording Academy with Faylita Hicks, and Writing Speculative Fiction with Erin Roberts. + Curated the Wildfire Reading Series featuring LaToya Watkins and Jasminne Mendez. + Organized TORCH social events including a Future Front Club: This Is Not A Book Club at local independent bookstores including Bookwoman, Black Pearl Books, Resistencia, and the Austin Public Library, and gathered at The Paramount Theatre for a trip to see The Moth Mainstage. + Raised over $110k in revenue from over 150 individual donors and foundations including The Burdine Johnson Foundation, The Tingari-Silverton Foundation, Resist Foundation, Austin Community Foundation, and the Amazon Literary Partnership. + In-kind supporters and sponsors included Vuka, Central Market H.E.B., Tito's Handmade Vodka, Bookwoman, Black Pearl Books, Resistencia, and Future Front. + Nominated TORCH features for Best of the Net, The O. Henry Prize, The Pushcart Prize, and the AKO Cain Prize. COMING IN 2023 + Pay increase for Friday Features to $100 per piece. + Featuring more Black women writers through Monthly, Friday, and Special Features. + Collaborations with Black Mamas ATX, The Contemporary - Laguna Gloria, and more. + The launch of the TORCH Retreat: an annual, fully funded, week-long retreat for Black women writers. The retreat will take place summer of 2023 in Austin, TX. 2022 photos by Cindy Elizabeth, Larry Choyce, Amanda Johnston, and others. 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 Colleen J. McElroy, Tayari Jones, Sharon Bridgforth, Crystal Wilkinson, Patricia Smith, Natasha Trethewey, Elizabeth Alexander, and others. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats. Help TORCH continue to publish and promote Black women writers by donating today.

Ashunda Norris is a Black feminist multidisciplinary artist with creative work that encompasses film, poetry, archiving, and her own theoretical frameworks. Her art centers the complexities of Black {Southern} womxnhood, magical spiritual traditions of Southern Black folk and Black fugitivity. A two-time Furious Flower Poetry Prize finalist, Ashunda holds fellowships from Cave Canem, the California Arts Council, Brooklyn Poets, and Starshine & Clay. Her work has been supported by the Hurston/Wright Foundation, the Community of Writers, and the New York State Summer Writer’s Institute. Ashunda’s writing has been featured or is forthcoming in Gulf Coast, Obsidian, Taint Taint Taint, Root Work Journal, Fence, EcoTheo Review, Trampoline, and other noteworthy publications. Born and raised in the heart of rural, red clay Georgia, Ashunda is now a bonafide, citified bitch living and creating in Los Angeles. Follow Ashunda on her website and on Instagram and Twitter. Please Adjust Tracking for Best Picture I was three days sober so I don’t remember the color of grandma’s casket but I can see my sister comin from ‘round a corner of the white church like it lived in her green carpet porch steps curved to her body’s bones my Mama’s face an o as prodigal daughter walks up to the truck like we just saw her yesterday ‘stead of two years ago under big city lights all of us mute except Mama is that..?? oh my baby git in hea – Shunda move so ya susta can climb in nie we sit in the hungry silence. * before the processional begins my sister looks lost her eyes a haunting of black flesh swallowed I wave her over to me ignore the street smell still lingering against her attempt to smother secrets close I keep my face off my folks try to think on when Grandma Ossie took us for joy rides to dairy queen when I still wasn’t too old to enjoy ice cream summers with my kin after the interment I glance over at her born 17 months after me, she was a marvel of aggravation as younger sisters can be we never got along then got along then best friends I’m a lament now irked by my teen self refusin to know our bond, yellin at her for leavin her glasses back at the school heated I had to drive all the back for her to get them her weepin wailin dryin up at my ridiculous rage it was just a ten minute drive back up the road * take it all gods if I can have my sister back as she was * at the repass she’s workin hard to convince us the chicken is good & worth eatin even as her body tells us she is what the city ate alive what it used to rot itself whole my mother marches around the church’s kitchen shruggin off what we know tearin at her insides how is it possible to bury a mother when your own mothering has caved to a daughter’s madness rest of us all sit there fake eatin solemn in a binding blinding womb of agony this is what grief does tightens family knots we talk about nothing that hurts. ### 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. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats. Help TORCH continue to publish and promote Black women writers by donating today.

First celebrated in Texas, Juneteenth is now a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Deriving its name from combining June and nineteenth, it is celebrated on the anniversary of the order by Major General Gordon Granger proclaiming freedom for enslaved people in Texas on June 19, 1865. Learn more about the history of Juneteenth here. Enjoy this list of select Torch Features The Cottage by Gail Upchurch word time by devorah major Something Wonderful by Victoria Adams-Kennedy Am I Beautiful? by Arianne Elena Payne Old Blood, Still Running by Angela Redmond-Theodore Join Torch Tuesday, June 20th for a special Juneteenth event. RSVP on Eventbrite 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 Colleen J. McElroy, Tayari Jones, Sharon Bridgforth, Crystal Wilkinson, Patricia Smith, Natasha Trethewey, Elizabeth Alexander, and others. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats. Help TORCH continue to publish and promote Black women writers by donating today.

Time & Location Jun 24, 2:00 PM CDT Fanm Djanm, 2055 South Lamar Boulevard Austin, TX 78704 About the event Join Torch Literary Arts and Fanm Djanm for this special event. All are welcome to experience this afternoon of verse and enjoy light bites and sparkling wine. BIPOC women writers are invited to sign up for the open mic and share original poetry, prose, or any other form of literary expression. This is a safe and supportive space where your voice will be heard and celebrated. 10 spots are available for the open mic. Get there early to get on the list! This event will take place on June 24th from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, and will be held at Fanm Djanm at 2055 South Lamar Austin, Texas 78704. Admission is free, and light refreshments will be provided. RSVP on Eventbrite We can't wait to hear your stories and share in this celebration of diverse voices in literature. Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization 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 Colleen J. McElroy, Tayari Jones, Sharon Bridgforth, Crystal Wilkinson, Patricia Smith, Natasha Trethewey, Elizabeth Alexander, and others. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats.

Time & Location Jun 24, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM CDT George Washington Carver Museum, 1165 Angelina St, Austin, TX 78702 Learn more about the 17th Annual Austin African American Book Festival! Visit Torch and many vendors from across Central Texas. Enjoy lectures and readings by Kwame Alexander, Gayle Jessup White, Dr. Peniel Joseph, Anne Wynter, Patrick Oliver, and kYmberly Keeton. The festival is free and open to the public. Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization 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 Colleen J. McElroy, Tayari Jones, Sharon Bridgforth, Crystal Wilkinson, Patricia Smith, Natasha Trethewey, Elizabeth Alexander, and others. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats.

Taylor Lena McTootle is a Boston-based educator, writer, and Creative Non-Fiction MFA candidate at Emerson College. Her work can be found in The Independent Magazine, The Periplus Collective Call & Response Anthology, and Boston Hassle. Follow Taylor on Instagram and Twitter. The Invitation She watched it from her living room, with the volume on low and incense burning by the door. She dipped one long finger into the towel-wrapped can of grease in her lap and let blue light drip into her eyes as she worked the thin plait along her head, from temple to just behind the ear. And when she finished the last cross of hairs and curled the end around her finger, she still had her whole head to go. But she had time, the fight hadn’t started yet. The stadium lights blinked through, hard and ready, becoming thin indigo on the walls, on her skin, on the curtains behind her. She wiped her hands on the towel and lifted the remote to raise the volume a bit. The static crowd crackled, and she was glad she hadn’t taken up the invitation to go in person. They were almost giddy about the whole thing as they sat at her kitchen table days earlier. It was a rare visit– the boys, together at their childhood home, and on a Saturday morning, no less. That should have been the first tell. “I would’ve made breakfast if I had known you all were coming.” She pushed two pieces of wheat bread down in the toaster and perched at the table to get a better look at the two. Khalid’s eyes twinkled, giving something away, and she looked at him steadily, then at Shane, who paused before unfolding a white envelope and sliding it toward her across the woodgrain. He smiled an afterthought, and Charlotte looked down at the slip of paper—a ticket. It read: Chariot Arena Boxing Match in large black letters. And then, Thursday evening, March 25th, 1992. “Your seat is up close.” Khalid’s gold cap embellished his voice. He rested the bulk of his forearms on the frail wooden table, and Charlotte feared it might break under the weight. He was the oldest of the two, her firstborn, from a love gone too quickly awry. Nearly 20 years ago, within the first month of moving to the city with her cousin Crystal, Charlotte met a man. His mother managed the store where Charlotte got paid to stand at a cash register and spray pretty perfumes on pale, wrinkled wrists. The son would bring his mother lunch on Wednesdays. He took classes just down the street. A beautiful boy, bright beige with two-toned eyes, as mischievous as Khalid would one day be. He took to Charlotte with a quickness and made no attempt to hide his liking. It turned the mother’s kindness sour. She still got her Wednesday lunches, but the son’s company, for a short time, belonged to Charlotte. He’d grin, cheek to cheek, and call her beautiful. In the vertigo of a new city, his affections steadied her, but it wouldn’t last. When she told him she was pregnant—-they’d met only a handful of times outside of the store—his smile faded, the city began to spin again, and the beautiful boy’s mother returned to her stinging sweetness. Charlotte quit and worked at a bar with her cousin until her belly began to show. In the center of the bent, fluttering ticket bill, spaced-out letters spelled “Khalid Malone vs. Shane Greene.” She looked up at the boys and back at the paper, wishing it would up and flutter away. “Why?” her voice hoarse with concern. Khalid’s smile faded, and he lowered his eyes, glancing sideways at Shane, who paused. There was no real answer to give, none his mother needed to worry herself with outright. He gave her the thin veil of satisfactory words instead. He was well practiced in this, “It’s sports, Ma. Siblings play each other all the time.” But so was Charlotte at deciphering. She let the voice of her youngest deflate and fall to the floor as something in the house seared and hummed its high pitch. She searched Shane’s face, deep brown, strong lines, honest eyes, and gapped teeth. It was funny how of the two boys, she fretted for him the least. He was born two and a half years after Khalid. Shane’s father was a much different man. A songbird, a wayward star. He was shot in another lover’s house days before Charlotte discovered she was pregnant. There were no delusions of romance or monogamy between them. They were true friends and had been since their teenage years back in the same county, different towns, about a ten-minute drive apart. They’d reconnected in the city at a party she and Crystal threw at their shared apartment. Charlotte was coming out from laying Khalid down when she ran into her old friend. He was coming out of the washroom, recognized her, and smiled big. They hugged like home. Finding pieces of it here in this cold place was something special. Their lovemaking was like that, too—youthful, safe, nostalgic. Charlotte understood that he was never meant to stay, but she hadn’t guessed he would go that way. She grieved viciously for him, for home, for the time she’d never get back. And when Shane arrived all plump and healthy, she saw it as a resurrection. Charlotte struggled with the boys for as long as she could. She held on until she couldn't. Working three jobs, getting fired from one to pick up another. Food stamps helped, and so did Crystal, but there was a point, Khalid was about 15, and Shane, 13, when Charlotte knew. She couldn’t take the hungry look in their eyes. Didn’t want her boys to see their mother that way. Khalid had already started to turn, saying words more stinging than sweet. He left first, of his own volition. His grandmother’s baby, his father’s clone. To them, she knew Khalid was nothing short of a gilded angel. He would soar there easily, too easily. She fretted for him the most. Shane floundered after he left. He had half brothers, children of his father, who let him sleep on their couch. Charlotte knew the situation, how they were raised over there, how, inevitably, it would turn bad for Shane. And it did. But it was beyond her control to care for her boys the way another mother might have been able, beyond her to sway them with anything other than the gentleness of a Sunday morning breakfast and distant, prayerful love. She didn’t intervene when she knew Shane was selling, perhaps said a word when she knew he was using. She was present at his trial, visited, and put money on his books. All years 16 and 17. But it ended up being for the best. He came out clean, better. Resurrected. It comforted her, too, that the boys stayed so close through it all. She’d hang up the receiver after a call with Khalid feeling uneasy, “Maureen’s pregnant…”, “Mawmaw’s helping us get a house”... “I won the fight, did you watch?” and Charlotte would say dreamy, encouraging words, but something, always, in his soft, embellished voice sounded off. She couldn’t shake the feeling. She’d end the call with, “you seen your brother?” and when he’d tell her that they’d sparred the day before or that Shane was bringing some tapes over later, Charlotte could finally stop holding her breath. Boxing was the boys’ shared love, so none of this business on the tv should have been a surprise to her, but it all made Charlotte feel just as uneasy. So she sat, gut turned, but trying to ignore it, as her hands worked indigo hue and grease into wooly hair. She sat, toes curled, dutifully waiting for the end to near, for the blood to streak, for her boys to rest. ### 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. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats. Help Torch continue to publish and promote Black women writers by donating today.

Join Torch Literary Arts for this special event to acknowledge the historical significance of Juneteenth and celebrate the accomplishments of the African American community. Poets, writers, and guest speakers will share original work to acknowledge the federal holiday and celebrate the future of African Americans in Texas. Note: This event takes place at 2 locations. 7 pm - Texas African American History Memorial at the Texas Capitol (speeches & readings) 8 pm - African American Cultural and Historical Facility (readings, dancing, and food) FREE. Please RSVP on Eventbrite. Questions? Email contact@torchliteraryarts.org SPEAKERS Amanda Johnston is the Founder/Executive Director of Torch Literary Arts and the 2024 Poet Laureate of Texas. She earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine. She is the author of two chapbooks, GUAP and Lock & Key, and the full-length collection Another Way to Say Enter. Her work has appeared in numerous online and print publications, among them, Callaloo, Poetry Magazine, Puerto del Sol, Muzzle, and the anthologies, Furious Flower: Seeding the Future of African American Poetry and Women of Resistance: Poems for a New Feminism. She has received fellowships, grants, and awards from Cave Canem Foundation, Hedgebrook, Tasajillo, the Kentucky Foundation for Women, The Watermill Center, and the Austin International Poetry Festival. She is a former Board President of Cave Canem Foundation and a member of the Affrilachian Poets. Stephanie L. Lang is a writer and community curator who uses the power of storytelling to explore concepts of home, resistance, and spirituality. Currently, Stephanie is working on a book of short stories centered around Black Women community organizers in the early 1900’s. After the success of her curatorial debut of the photography exhibition, Seen & Unseen: A Sunday Afternoon in Clarksville she founded RECLAIM, an organization that reimagines the archives and uses them to discover and recover hidden, stolen and lost narratives of black people throughout the diaspora and presents these findings through an artistic and thought-provoking lens. Ebony Stewart is an international touring interdisciplinary poet, writer, and performance artist. Her work speaks to the Black experience, with emphasis on gender, sexuality, womanhood, queer-positivity, and race, with the hopes to be relatable, remove shame, heal minds, encourage dialogue, and inspire folks in marginalized communities. As one of the most decorated poets in Texas, Ebony is a respected coach & mentor, one of the top touring poets in the country, and the 2017 Woman of the World Poetry Slam Champion. She has shared stages with many prestigious figures in the art world such as the late-Amiri Baraka, Carmen Carerra, Marsha Ambrosius, Patricia Smith, Rudy Francisco, Ariana Brown, Lupe Mendez, and so many more. She has performed in 48 states, at over 200 colleges and universities across the country, as well as featured internationally in Canada, Australia, and Ghana. She is the author of BloodFresh, Home.Girl.Hood., and Love Letters to Balled Fists. Her work has been featured in Button Poetry, AfroPunk, For Harriet, Teen Vogue, The Texas Observer, Houston Public Media, The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2: Black Girl Magic, 2021 Colorism Healing Writing Contest, Write About Now Poetry, plus countless others. As a playwright, Ebony’s one-woman shows, Hunger and Ocean, have received B. Iden Payne Awards & the David Mark Cohen New Play Award. Ebony is also a mental health advocate and former sexual health educator. With her recent Master's in Clinical Social Work, she is also soon, the hood's favorite therapist. Tova Charles is a powerhouse-performing spoken word artist who has been taking the slam poetry community by storm since 2008. Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, and raised in Austin, Texas, and daughter of a librarian and Zydeco percussionist, her childhood was never boring! She acquired a passion for writing from her mother and for performing from her father. In the spring of 2003, she was inducted into the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., one of the original historically Black national collegiate sororities in the U.S. An award-winning writer and dynamic performer, Tova is mother to two busy children, Harper and Harlem, serves as a primary-level literacy achievement specialist and is the creative director, CEO, and host of Austin Poetry Slam. Florinda Bryant is the Program Coordinator for the Austin African American Cultural Heritage Facility and an interdisciplinary artist and arts educator who calls Austin home. Holding it down in every aspect of performance, whether writing, performing, or directing, Florinda’s passion and dedication to her craft is evident. As a performer and director, she is no stranger to many stages in Austin, having worked with Salvage Vanguard Theater, the Rude Mechs, the Vortex, Paper Chairs, and Teatro Vivo. Some of her favorite performances include Am I White ( by Adrienne Dawes), The Panza Monologues ( by Virginia Grise), Bright Now Beyond ( By Daniel Alexander Jones and Bobby Halverson), and Fixing King John ( adapted by Kirk Lynn). As a writer and poet, Florinda enjoys engaging audiences in explorations around identity, body, and community. Her award-winning one-woman show Half-Breed Southern Fried was produced as part of the Performing Blackness Series at UT and was directed by Laurie Carlos. DJ Aquamanchill - Host of Afrobonics Radio Session on KAZI. SOUL FOOD by Mashae’s Catering Menu: Smothered Chicken, BBQ Beef Sausage, Candied Sweet Potatoes, Collard Greens, Four Mac & Cheese, Jalapeños Cheddar Muffins, Mini Red Velvet Bundt Cakes, Peach Tea, and Rum Punch BOOK GIVEAWAY Take home a signed copy of Juneteenth: Our Day of Freedom by Sharon Dennis Wyeth. Books available while supply lasts. Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization 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 Colleen J. McElroy, Tayari Jones, Sharon Bridgforth, Crystal Wilkinson, Patricia Smith, Natasha Trethewey, Elizabeth Alexander, and others. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats.

Yael Valencia Aldana is a Caribbean Afro-Latinx writer and poet. She is a descendant of the indigenous people of modern-day Colombia. Her work has appeared or is upcoming in Typehouse, South Florida Poetry Journal, Cutbank Journal, and Slag Glass City, among others. She teaches creative writing in South Florida, where she lives with her son and too many pets. Visit her website and follow her on Instagram and Twitter. Black Person Head Bob I still count. How many of us are in here? Five? Six? Two including me? Why? Are we going to fight somebody? Our backs against their gilded walls. Have we made progress? We made it yet? If we stare too-too long, sometimes we head bob. I see you. You see me. I see you, a woman on a Philadelphia street. I stare for half a second too long. You stare for a half second too long. Your houndstooth jacket just so. Your gray hair just so. Like my mother would have done. You see me. We do not speak. We pass a silent Go on girl as we cross. She is cleaning the University bathroom in her blue uniform. She sees me. I see her. We head bob. We do not speak. Pass a silent Go on girl as we cross. I ask my colleague, twenty-four to my forty-four, Do y’all still count how many black people are in the room? Do y’all still hold each other’s gaze half a second too long? I see you. You see me. I got you. You got me. Or is that old woman stuff? Old Black woman stuff I learned from my mother? I saw you, he says. I counted you, he says. I got you. You got me. For our ancestors below the sea from our ancestors across the sea I see you, you see me. ### Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit established to publish and promote creative writing by Black women. We publish contemporary writing by emerging and experienced writers alike. Our programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats. Help TORCH continue to publish and promote Black women writers by donating today.

Torch Literary Arts is thrilled to announce that Kameryn Alexa Carter has been awarded the Pushcart Prize for “Self Portrait as Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy in the Style of Gentileschi” published July 8, 2022 as a Torch Friday Feature! Her poem will be published in Pushcart Prize XLVIII, the 2024 edition. Congratulations to Kameryn and all of the nominees. Torch considers all accepted features for award nominations. We accept submissions of poetry, fiction, hybrid genre, and script (plays and screenplays) by Black women writers on a rolling basis. Learn more about our submission guidelines here. The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses series, published every year since 1976, is the most honored literary project in America - including Highest Honors from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Since 1976, hundreds of presses and thousands of writers of short stories, poetry, and essays have been represented in our annual collections. Each year most of the writers and many of the presses are new to the series. Every volume contains an index of past selections, plus lists of outstanding presses with addresses. 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. Help TORCH continue to publish and promote Black women writers by donating today.

Give in June and be eligible for prizes donated by Torch Features! JOIN THE TORCH DONATION DRIVE We are halfway through the year and Torch needs your help to fulfill our mission to amplify Black women writers. Our 2023 goal for individual donations is $30,000. We need your help to reach that goal. As an incentive, we have some giveaways gifted to us by Torch Features! Donate by June 15 for a chance to win. Any donation amount is greatly appreciated. Please consider becoming a Monthly Donor to sustain Torch for years to come. GIVEAWAYS - A signed copy of bull-jean& dem/dey back by 2023 United States Artists Fellow and Yale's Windham Campbell Prize in Drama winner, Sharon Bridgforth - dat Black Mermaid Man Lady dem Blessings decks by Sharon Bridgforth - A signed copy of Juneteenth: Our Day of Freedom by celebrated children's book author, Sharon Dennis Wyeth CLICK HERE TO DONATE TODAY