< Back Torch Announces the Nominations for the Pushcart Prize Brittany Heckard Nov 22, 2024 Six Torch Features, Erica Frederick, A. E. Wynter, Sydney Mayes, Chidima Anekwe, Chyann Hector, and Mon Misir, are nominated for their respective works. For the third year in a row, Torch is elated to nominate six Torch Features for The Pushcart Prize. The Pushcart Prize has been published every year since 1976 and showcases small presses from all over America. Torch Magazine has been featured in the publication every year since our nominations began in 2022. It is a true testament to the work that Black women produce and the importance of amplifying their work through our online magazine. You can learn more about the prize here . Our Amazing Torch Nominees Include: “ Banana Trees/Sunflower Seeds ” by Erica Frederick “ Track One (Kick, Push III) ” by A.E. Wynter “ Exhaustion Whispers Tough Luck to The July Child ” by Sydney Mayes “ Biafra Song ” by Chidima Anekwe “ Black Girlhood ” by Chyann Hector “ Excise ” by Mon Misir ### About Torch Literary Arts Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit established with love and intention in 2006 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, workshops, an annual retreat, and special events. Help Torch continue to publish and promote Black women writers by donating today. About Erica Frederick Erica Frederick is a queer, Haitian American writer from Orlando, Florida currently living in Brooklyn, New York. She received her MFA in fiction from Syracuse University and writes about being big in all the ways there are to be big—in body, in spirit, in Blackness, in Florida suburbia. She has received fellowships from MacDowell, Tin House, The Rona Jaffe Foundation, VIDA, Lambda Literary, and the Hurston/Wright Foundation. She is well at work on her first novel, Fight in the Night. About A.E. Wynter A. E. Wynter is a Black, Jamaican-descended writer and editor from New York. She is also a community organizer and currently lives in Saint Paul, MN where she has curated multimedia art exhibits, writing workshops, and readings, among other events. Wynter has received multiple grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and was a fiction fellow in the 2021-2022 Loft Mentor Series. Winner of the 53rd New Millennium Award for Poetry and The Florida Review 2024 Editors' Award in Poetry, her poems have also appeared or are forthcoming in West Trade Review and Water~Stone Review . Wynter was a 2023 resident at the Carolyn Moore Writers Residency. About Sydney Mayes Sydney Mayes is a poet from Denver, Colorado. Her poems have been published or are forthcoming in The Atlantic, Poets.org , The Iowa Review Blog, Gulf Coast Journal, Obsidian, Denver Quarterly, Booth, and Prairie Schooner . Mayes won the 2021 Iowa Chapbook Prize for her chapbook You Look Just Like Your Mama . She was selected by Roger Reeves as a finalist for the 2024 Furious Flower Poetry Prize. Executive Editor of Nashville Review , Mayes is an MFA Candidate in Poetry at Vanderbilt University. Follow Sydney on Instagram . About Chidima Anekwe Chidima Anekwe is an emerging writer hailing from the old coastal town of Stratford, CT. She is a recent graduate from Yale University with a B.A. in English Language & Literature and a concentration in Creative Writing. For her work, she has received support from the SAEF Grant and the DuPuy Prize, and has been nominated for a MacNelly Award for Literary Arts. She writes to explore new postcolonial poetics and Black feminist existentialisms within contemporary American girlhood, usually with a satirical bent. She has read for The Yale Review and edited for DOWN , a BIPOC-centered webzine, among others. She is currently based in CT and gaining experience in NY. About Chyann Hector Chyann Hector is a Black Jamaican-American writer and educator based in the DMV. She has been writing ever since she could remember and wrote her first novel in a spiral notebook in the 5th grade. In her work, Chyann prioritizes the voices of Black women who are immigrants and descendants of immigrants. She also explores multi-generational relationships, mental health, and culture in her writing. You can find her on Instagram and TikTok: @chyiswriting. About Mon Misir Mon Misir (she/they) is a queer Black British writer and recovering lawyer based in London, UK. They use their writing to explore facets of their experience as a black woman, with a speculative bent. When not writing or editing others’ work in various writers groups, they enjoy reading, theatre (musical and otherwise), and learning how to wield a longsword. They have work published in or forthcoming with the Decolonial Passage and Midnight & Indigo . You can find their links here: https://bio.site/Nomonbooks or follow them on Instagram . About The Pushcart Prize 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. Media Contact Information: Brittany Heckard Communications Associate bheckard@torchliteraryarts.org (512) 641-9251 Previous Next

< Back Torch Announces the 2025 Nominations for the Pushcart Prize Dec 1, 2025 Six Torch Features, Jordan E. Franklin, Joi' C Weathers, Imani Nikelle, Yolanda Kwadey, Jennifer Maritza McCauley, and Marchaé Grair are nominated for their respective works. For the fourth year in a row, Torch is excited to nominate six incredible Torch Features for The Pushcart Prize. The Pushcart Prize has been published every year since 1976 and showcases small presses from all over America. Torch Magazine has been featured in the publication twice since our nominations began in 2022. “ Torch Magazine is both an archive and manifestation for Black women writers around the world daring to tell their stories,” said executive director Amanda Johnston. “Nominating these amazing writers for their work provides access to the publishing field, and more importantly, a community that continues fueling their literary journey.” You can learn more about the Pushcart Prize here . Our Amazing Torch Nominees Include: “ poet discusses how she inherited the new world ” by Jordan E. Franklin “ Redd Ain’t Never Been Just A Color ” by Joi' C Weathers “ American Quilt ” by Imani Nikelle “ The Museum of Fiction ” by Yolanda Kwadey “ Africa Hollers Back to Me ” by Jennifer Maritza McCauley “ She/Not Her ” by Marchaé Grair ### About Torch Literary Arts Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit established with love and intention in 2006 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, workshops, an annual retreat, and special events. Help Torch continue to publish and promote Black women writers by donating today. About Jordan E. Franklin Jordan E. Franklin (she/her) hails from Brooklyn, NY. She received her MFA from Stony Brook Southampton and is a doctoral candidate at Binghamton University. She is the author of the poetry collection, when the signals come home (Switchback Books), and the chapbook, boys in the electric age (Tolsun Books). Her work has appeared in Breadcrumbs, Frontier, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, the Southampton Review and elsewhere. She is the winner of the 2017 James Hearst Poetry Prize and the 2020 Gatewood Prize. About Joi' C Weathers Joi’ C. Weathers is an award-winning marketer turned writer and third-generation Chicago South Sider with over 14 years of experience leading creative campaigns for global brands like Microsoft and Meta. She’s been recognized with a Cannes Lion, multiple regional Emmys, Golden Trumpet Awards from the Publicity Club of Chicago (PCC), and ADC and AICP honors. She excels at blending cultural storytelling with business success, but her true passion lies in prose. Currently pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at Temple University, Joi’ amplifies Black voices and celebrates the African Diaspora through her work. A 2025 Project Completion Grant recipient, she is currently finalizing her manuscript for her debut novel, which centers around themes of identity, community, autonomy, and the power of self-acceptance. In addition, she will join the 2025 ‘Black Philadelphia’ symposium as a panelist, hosted by The Library Company of Philadelphia, 1838 Black Metropolis, and UPenn, where she will discuss reclaiming the narrative of Black women. She is the host of the award-winning Obsidian Collection podcast while maintaining her brand Joi Has Questions , dedicated to sharing Black History. Through storytelling and advocacy, Joi’ continues to celebrate the Black Diaspora in all she does. Learn more about Joi’ on her website iamjoicweathers.com and follow her on social media: @Joihasquestions. About Imani Nikelle Imani Nikelle is a southern-born, East Coast dwelling poet & filmmaker. Her poetry is published or forthcoming in Callaloo , The Columbia Review , Poet Lore , and elsewhere. She is currently earning an MFA in Literary Arts from Brown University. About Yolanda Kwadey Yolanda Kwadey is a Ghanaian currently pursuing an MFA in Fiction at the University of Florida. Her writing typically centers African women and race. She also enjoys genre-bending and has worked on Subtropics as an assistant editor. Prior to the MFA, Yolanda has been published twice in the Samira Bawumia Literary Prize Anthology by Ghana's former Second Lady for her creative nonfiction pieces: “Mama Doesn’t Know” and “Life Is a Baptism.” She is also a recipient of the Rebecca Elizabeth Porter Creative Writing Fellowship by the University of Florida. About Jennifer Maritza McCauley Jennifer Maritza McCauley is the author of the cross-genre collection SCAR ON/SCAR OFF (Stalking Horse Press), When Trying to Return Home (Counterpoint Press), a short story collection, Kinds of Grace (Flowersong Press), a poetry collection, and the forthcoming speculative fiction collection Neon Steel (Cornerstone Press/University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.) Her newest poetry collection VERSUS will be released by Texas Review Press in March 2027. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (prose), Kimbilio (fiction), CantoMundo (poetry), Sundress Academy for the Arts (hybrid). She earned her MFA in creative writing from Florida International University and PhD in literature and creative writing from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She is fiction editor at Pleiades and an assistant professor of English at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. About Marchaé Grair Marchaé Grair (they/she) is a storyteller, spiritual seeker, and facilitator making meaning of life’s liminal spaces. They are an alum of residencies and workshops presented by Tin House, Anaphora Arts, Voices of our Nations (VONA), the Hurston/Wright Foundation, and Roots. Wounds. Words, where they were also a writer-in-residence. Marchaé’s work embodies their Black, queer, nonbinary, disabled, and polyamorous experiences. They are working on a queer, young adult romance novel loosely based on their life and other essays about identity. When they are not writing, they are rewatching their favorite rom-coms, downloading the new Sims expansion pack, or laughing a little too loudly at their own jokes. About The Pushcart Prize 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. Previous Next

< Back Torch to Raise $10,000 during one of Austin’s Largest Giving Days Jan 28, 2026 Torch joins over 700 nonprofits during Amplify Austin to raise funds for Black women writers. This year, Torch is joining the Austin nonprofit community to raise $10,000 during Amplify Austin, for the fourth year in a row. Amplify Austin’s official 24-hour giving day starts on March 4 at 6 p.m. CST and ends on March 5 at 6 p.m CST. Our fundraising page is open for early giving for supporters to donate starting today by visiting this link . Here are a few ways you can show your support during Amplify Austin: Donate directly to our Amplify Austin Campaign. Our Amplify Austin campaign is live now! You can donate to show your support for Black women writers by visiting our Amplify Austin fundraising page . All donors will be entered into a raffle for prizes from our generous community partners listed on our fundraising page. Create a fundraising page to support Torch. Are you interested in sharing how Torch has impacted your life? You can become a fundraiser for Torch’s Amplify Austin campaign and help raise money by sharing it with your network. You can sign up to become a fundraiser here or create a fundraising page here. All fundraisers can use our fundraising toolkit to assist in reaching out to their extended community. For more details about Amplify Austin, visit amplifyatx.org . About Torch Literary Arts Torch Literary Arts (Torch) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit established with love and intention in 2006 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, retreats, and other special events. Help Torch continue to publish and promote Black women writers by donating today. About Amplify Austin Amplify Austin Day is the biggest day of giving in Central Texas, raising $122.4 Million dollars for the local community since 2013. During a single 24-hour period, from 6:00 PM on March 4 to 6:00 PM on March 5, 2026, residents across a 7-county region will come together to support more than 700 nonprofits by making a donation through the platform, AmplifyATX.org . Previous Next

< Back Torch Literary Arts Announces New Board Member Mar 31, 2026 Dalia Azim joins the Torch board, bringing her expertise in literary programming and partnerships in the Austin literary community. Torch is excited to add another member to the Board of Directors. This month, we’re welcoming Dalia Azim to the board. As an organization dedicated to literary excellence, we’re excited to welcome a local board member who is an active leader in the literary community. Dalia Azim was born in Canada and raised in the United States. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, American Short Fiction, and Poets & Writers, among other places. Her first novel, Country of Origin , was published in 2022 and received the Discovery Award from the Writers' League of Texas. Dalia lives in Austin, Texas, with her family and is the Chief Operating Officer of the Texas Book Festival. “Dalia has been a longtime Torch supporter personally and professionally through the Texas Book Festival. The partnerships and collaborations created in Austin’s literary arts community strengthen the ecosystem of writers in our city,” said executive director Amanda Johnston. “ Dalia’s experience in the literary community provides the operational and programmatic guidance we want on our board,” said board chair, Dr. Sequoia Maner. “We look forward to working together to support Torch’s mission to amplify and uplift Black women writers.” For more information about Torch Literary Arts and our team, please visit https://www.torchliteraryarts.org/team or follow @torchliteraryarts on Instagram. ### About Torch Literary Arts Torch Literary Arts (Torch) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit established with love and intention in 2006 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. Media Contact Information: Brittany Heckard Communications Associate bheckard@torchliteraryarts.org (512) 641-9251 Previous Next

< Back Austin Community Foundation Announces Torch Literary Arts as one of The Black Fund Grant Partners Brittany Heckard Jan 30, 2024 The Black Fund’s recognition of Torch Literary Arts as a grant partner allows Torch to continue hosting special events for Black women writers in the Austin community. AUSTIN, Tex., January 30, 2024 – Torch Literary Arts (Torch) was recently granted a semifinalist grant partner award from Austin Community Foundation’s The Black Fund. Torch is one of five arts, culture, and preservation impact area nonprofits to receive a grant from the fund. The grant will be used to fund Torch’s in-person special events supporting Black women writers in Austin. “ Funding Black-led and serving organizations is one of many critical steps needed to preserve Black culture in Austin,” said Amanda Johnston, founder and executive director of Torch. “Organizations like Torch, and the many others receiving a grant from The Black Fund, exist as safe-havens for Black people looking for their community.” Institutionally, funding for Black-led and serving organizations is scarce as these organizations are often neglected by larger foundations compared to other nonprofits. According to the Black Nonprofit Fundraising Guide , philanthropic racial bias leads to Black communities being underfunded by $2 billion. The Stanford Social Innovation Review found that Black-led organizations’ revenue is 45% smaller than white-led organizations despite focusing on the same work. Austin Community Foundation launched The Black Fund in 2022 with the purpose of addressing the systemic racial inequities present in Austin. Over three years, the fund will invest over $1 million dollars to Black-led and Black-serving nonprofit organizations in the Central Texas region. The Black Fund invests in the following impact areas: arts, culture, and preservation; education; health and wellness; power building, organizing, and advocacy; and wealth building. Austin Community Foundation was established in 1977 with the goal of meeting community needs in Central Texas. To date, the foundation has given over $500 million to over 1300 nonprofits across Central Texas. Their vision of advancing economic mobility is mobilized through their programs like The Black Fund, Hispanic Impact Fund, Women’s Fund, and FundATX. For more information about Torch Literary Arts, please visit https://www.torchliteraryarts.org/ or follow @torchliteraryarts on Instagram. ### About Torch Literary Arts Torch Literary Arts (Torch) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit established with love and intention in 2006 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. About Austin Community Foundation Austin Community Foundation was created through the generosity of one woman, Fannie Gray Files Leo . She wanted a way to provide for her favorite charities and upon her death, she earmarked five percent of her estate ($30,000) to create Austin Community Foundation. In 1977, a group of business leaders, led by Fannie Gray’s bank trust officer, officially founded Austin Community Foundation. In creating the foundation, Austin followed the example of hundreds of cities across the country with the goal to meet community needs and inspire local philanthropists to create endowments to generate earnings and distribute grants. Media Contact Information: Brittany Heckard Communications Associate bheckard@torchliteraryarts.org (512) 641-9251 Previous Next

< Back Torch Announces the 2025 Retreat Fellows Brittany Heckard Apr 24, 2025 Torch returns for a third consecutive year to host eight fellows at their annual retreat for Black women writers at the Colton House in Austin, Texas, from July 20-27, 2025. AUSTIN, Tex., April 17, 2025 – Torch Literary Arts is proud to announce the 2025 Torch Retreat Fellows! Eight writers with works-in-progress across poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and script (plays, screenplays) were selected among 375 applicants to participate in our annual retreat at the Colton House Hotel from July 20-27. Each fellow will receive a $1,000 stipend to help with costs associated with travel, supplies, or other financial needs to support their attendance at the retreat. Intentional about our vision of creating community, each fellow is paired with another writer in their genre, participates in craft talks and a public reading, and is encouraged to rest. Introducing the 2025 Torch Retreat Fellows Jumi Bello is a fiction writer, scholar, and advocate committed to exploring abolitionist futures and disability justice. A PhD candidate in English Literature at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, her work examines critical disability studies, carceral studies, speculative fiction, and decolonial worldbuilding. She is also a fiction graduate of the Iowa Writer's Workshop and a proud Posse Scholar alum. Jumi’s creative work includes HO(US)E , a speculative novel that imagines a sentient halfway house bearing witness to the afterlives of psychiatric survivorship. Her concept of Mad Futurism serves as a framework for imagining care beyond the constraints of carceral systems. Her writing has been supported by the Black Mountain Institute, Los Angeles Review of Books Publishing Workshop, and Roots. Wounds. Words. Through her work as a writer, mentor, and literary community member, Jumi is dedicated to fostering conversations on disability justice and speculative worldbuilding. Her recent presentations at the Eaton Conference on Speculative Fiction and the Communities of Care Symposium explore the intersections of narrative, memory, and liberation. At The Torch Retreat, she looks forward to continuing her exploration of storytelling as a catalyst for transformative change. Jassmine Parks is a Detroit poet, professor, arts administrator, and flower child. Currently working on her poetic debut, touch stone, Jassmine’s work examines the resiliency of the Black and feminine experience. As an adoptee, Jassmine delves into the thematic depths of the long-term impact of mass incarceration and family separation, daughter and motherhood, identifying the traumatic ruptures and healing salve within her lineage and reclaiming narrative as a tool to own her power. Jassmine’s poetry has been supported and published with Obsidian: Literature & Arts In The African Diaspora , Clearline Magazine , and Room Object , and her performances can be found on PBS, Button Poetry, SlamFind, and All Def Poetry. She has been nurtured through fellowships from The Watering Hole, Pen America: Emerging Voices, Michigan Traditional Arts Program, Kresge Arts In Detroit, and Room Project. You can find her basking in the light of her husband and two children or lost in nostalgia, wishing for the time of aluminum foil grills and Cash Money Records was taking over for the nine nine and the two thousand. As a flower child, she wishes to leave a legacy of thriving, tenderness and growth. Learn more about Jassmine at her website: www.jassmineparkstheflowerchild.com . .CHISARAOKWU. (she/her) is an Igbo American transdisciplinary poet artist. Drawing inspiration from her Igbo heritage, quantum physics, her career in medicine, indigenous healing practices, and the natural world, her poetry weaves archival text, visual art, film, and collage to unsilence the archives pertaining to Africans in the diaspora. Her work appears in literary and academic journals and received fellowship support from Cave Canem, Anaphora Arts, the Poetry Foundation, and more. She was the 2023 Sonia Sanchez Poetry Fellow at MacDowell and in 2025 received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. She is an alum of Duke University School of Medicine and Stanford University. Otito Greg-Obi (They/We/ She) is a queer, Black, Igbo, neuroexpansive writer. Their work explores mental health, ecology, and intimacy. They love writing genre-bending stories that are character-driven and woven with magical realism. Otito was awarded a 2024 Rooted and Written Fellowship for their sci-fi pilot Bloodsap. They were a finalist for the 2025 Sundance Collab Cultural Impact Residency and the 2025 Periplus Fellowship. They also won a 2023 Sundress Academy for the Arts Residency for their dramedy pilot Pinky Swear. Their dramedy pilot, Knead , received an honorable mention in the 2023 Finish Line Script Competition and was a semifinalist in the 2022 Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition. In addition to writing films and tv shows, Otito is a member of the 2025 Liberation Ecology Cohort with Critical Ecology Lab. Otito is also the producer and host of Best Friends for (N)Ever, a podcast about the highs and lows of friendship. When we’re not conjuring and devouring stories, we’re practicing yoga, walking through forests, swimming through water, and pressing flowers in books we haven’t finished reading yet. Kenndall Wallace loves to write. As a Black playwright, author, and screenwriter, Kenndall uses the written word to not only entertain audiences-- but create living, moving art pieces through storytelling. She was an inaugural winner of the Farmers' Alley Theatre Lumen Playwriting Competition, a Broadcast Education Association winner for her debut feature-length screenplay, and has been honored three times by the Region III Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, being awarded at the national level in 2024 with her full-length play 'To Cry Into Sand'. As she grows as a writer and artist, she hopes to continue writing stories that explore and honor Black culture. Kennetha Bigham-Tsai is a writer, teacher, preacher, and social activist. Her primary literary form has been the sermon. She has preached in pulpits throughout the United States and beyond and has taught or presented in multiple venues, including Boston University, as the Anna Howard Shaw lecturer, as a presenter at the World Methodist Council, in Gothenburg Sweden, and most recently as the opening preacher for the Lake Junaluska Peace Conference in North Carolina. She has served in The United Methodist Church for more than twenty years and was elected bishop in 2022. At this stage in her life and career, she is exploring other literary forms, including poetry and memoir. She is the recipient of poetry and fiction awards from the Friends of the Chautauqua Institute and a regular participant in the Iowa Writers Summer Festival. Her current project is a memoir about trauma. She notes, “I want to write the stories about how I got through. They are my truth, the plumb line of my life, from fists that wounded to the hands that heal. I am really writing the story of my hands, which I have spent a career offering to others in ministry.” Starr Davis is a talented writer and devoted mother whose work appears in The Kenyon Review and Poem-a-Day by the Academy of American Poets. She has received fellowships from The Luminary and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and serves as the Creative Nonfiction Editor of TriQuarterly . A 2025 Visions After Violence Fellow with the After Violence Project, Starr is dedicated to exploring the intersections of trauma, justice, and storytelling. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the City College of New York and a BA in Journalism and Creative Writing from the University of Akron. Her personal-political reporting has been recognized by Longreads and featured on podcasts like What You Didn’t Expect in Fertility . A survivor, Starr advocates for women writers and marginalized voices, often speaking on domestic violence and economic injustice against Black mothers. Nominated for awards such as the Pushcart Prize, she is also a 2024 Writing Freedom Fellow with Haymarket Books. Her poetry collection, AFFIDAVIT , will be published by Hanging Loose Press in Fall 2025. She resides in Houston, empowering women through volunteer work. Idza Luhumyo was born in Mombasa, Kenya. She studied law at the University of Nairobi, earned an MA in Comparative Literature at SOAS--University of London, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Texas State University. Her writing has appeared in various publications, including in Transition Magazine , African Arguments , the Masters Review , and the Porter House Review . Her short story, "Five Years Next Sunday," earned her the 2021 Short Story Day Africa Prize and the 2022 Caine Prize for African Writing. Other awards include the Margaret Busby New Daughters of Africa Award and the Civitella Ranieri Writing Fellowship. She currently lives in Austin and teaches in the English department at Texas State University. The inaugural Torch Retreat convened in 2023 with six fellows writing across poetry, fiction, and script and included retreat fellows Ashley M. Coleman, Ajanaė Dawkins, Victoria Newton Ford, Ashunda Norris, Obinwanne Nwizu, and Keya Vance. Our 2024 fellows included Sandra Jackson-Opoku, m. mick powell, Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo, Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton , DW McKinney, Elizabeth Brown, Meredith L. King, and Destiny Hemphill. You can watch a video of the 2023 Torch Retreat readings and 2024 Torch Retreat readings on our YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/@torchlitarts . ### About Torch Literary Arts Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit established with love and intention in 2006 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, workshops, an annual retreat, and special events. Help Torch continue to publish and promote Black women writers by donating today. Media Contact Information: Brittany Heckard Communications Associate bheckard@torchliteraryarts.org (512) 641-9251 Previous Next

< Back Torch Literary Arts Releases Fall 2025 Season Aug 28, 2025 Torch’s Fall 2025 Season includes dynamic readings, a screenwriting conversation, book festivals, workshops, and more! Torch is excited to bring another season full of community building, networking, and workshops for Black women writers across the diaspora. Building on the excitement from our 20th Anniversary "Save the Date" announcement and our birthday month, the Fall 2025 Season will bring more of what our community has come to rely on and expect. You can RSVP to Torch’s events by visiting torchliteraryarts.org/events . Our special events this season include: August 28: Tending the Flame with Lenelle Moïse , Kelly Harris-DeBerry , Amina Gautier , and Amanda Johnston September 8: Torch Writing Circle - Dedicated virtual writing time for BIPOC women writers September 13: In Conversation with Sonja Perryman , award-winning associate producer for Hulu’s East Los High and screenwriter for the Amazon Prime drama, Cross October 4: Torch will be at the Decatur Book Festival in Downtown Decatur, GA. Find our booth! October 9: Poetry Workshop - Chewing on the Alphabet & Stealing from the Best with Lynne Thompson October 11: Torch Day at BookPeople - Join us in person or shop online at BookPeople to celebrate Torch Day. October 21: Welcome Table Talk - Thinking About Love and the Divine with Ajanaé Dawkins , author of Blood-Flex , and DaMaris Hill , author of Blood Bible: An American History. Presented by the Wintergreen Women Writers Collective and Torch Literary Arts. October 23: Wildfire Reading Series featuring Ebony Stewart , author of WASH November 3: Wildfire Reading Series featuring Ashley D. Farmer , author of Queen Mother November 6 & 8: Torch x Texas Book Festival featuring Donika Kelly , author of The Natural Order of Things , and Tiana Clark , author of Scorched Earth. Join us for readings, panels, and more at the 2025 Texas Book Festival ! November 19 : Workshop - From the lion’s mouth: The Writer as Historical Witness with Sandra Jackson-Opoku Stay tuned for more fall events and announcements!! ### About Torch Literary Arts Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit established with love and intention in 2006 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. For more information about Torch Literary Arts, please visit https://www.torchliteraryarts.org/ or follow @torchliteraryarts on Instagram. Help Torch continue to publish and promote Black women writers by donating today. Media Contact Information: Brittany Heckard Communications Associate bheckard@torchliteraryarts.org (512) 641-9251 Previous Next

< Back Torch Literary Arts Announces the Torch Center Coming Fall 2025 Sep 2, 2025 The local Austin nonprofit organization dedicated to building community for Black women writers will now have a physical location at the LINC of Austin. AUSTIN, Tex., Sep. 2, 2024 – Torch Literary Arts is proud to announce that a physical location for the nonprofit will open in Fall 2025. The nonprofit that has been running for nineteen years will now have a physical location at the LINC of Austin in North-Central Austin, TX. “Watching Torch grow to having a physical location is a dream come true,” executive director of Torch, Amanda Johnston. “Establishing the Torch Center grounds us in our mission and offers more community-building activities for Black women writers and all lovers of literature here in the city where Torch was founded.” The physical location will allow the nonprofit to host more in-person events in the greater Austin area. Torch hosts recurring events, including the Wildfire Reading Series that features notable authors from across the country, open mic events, free creative writing and professional development workshops, an annual retreat, and more. “ This is more than a building; this is a victory for our voices, our stories, and our legacy. I am overjoyed to be a small part of the team that continues to cultivate victories for Black women. Torch is lighting the way,” said board chair Sequoia Maner, PhD. According to Magnitude & Bond , a study on Black Literary organizations, Black-led and other culturally specific literary organizations are some of the most underresourced arts organizations. This physical location allows Torch to expand beyond its already growing diasporic presence and anchors itself in Austin’s arts community. Torch was established in 2006 as a grassroots community project by Amanda Johnston, 2024 Texas Poet Laureate. In nineteen years, the organization has published the award-winning Torch Magazine , hosted an annual paid retreat with a national reach, and developed partnerships with the Texas Book Festival, Texas State University, and the Consulate General of Ireland in Austin, among others. Many thanks to Art Power for fueling Torch's flame as the first corporate sponsor of the Torch Center. Interested in supporting Torch Literary Arts as a sponsor or partner? Email us at contact@torchliteraryarts.org to learn how. You can keep up with Torch’s progress and upcoming events by visiting their website at torchliteraryarts.org , signing up for the weekly newsletter, or following on Instagram. ### About Torch Literary Arts Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit established with love and intention in 2006 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, workshops, an annual retreat, and special events. Help Torch continue to publish and promote Black women writers by donating today. Media Contact Information: Brittany Heckard Communications Associate bheckard@torchliteraryarts.org (512) 641-9251 Previous Next

< Back Amanda Johnston Founder / Executive Director Amanda Johnston is a writer, visual artist, and the 61st Poet Laureate of Texas. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine. She is the author of two chapbooks, GUAP and Lock & Key , as well as the full-length collection Another Way to Say Enter. She is also the editor of the anthology Praisesong for the People: Poems from the Heart and Soul of Texas . Her work has appeared in numerous online and print publications, among them Callaloo , Poetry Magazine , The Moth Radio Hour, Bill Moyers, The Rumpus , and elsewhere. She has received fellowships, grants, and awards from Cave Canem, Hedgebrook, Tasajillo, the Kentucky Foundation for Women, The Watermill Center, American Short Fiction, and the Academy of American Poets. She is a former Board President of the Cave Canem Foundation and the founder of Torch Literary Arts.

< Back Wintergreen Women Writers Collective and Torch Literary Arts Partner to Host Welcome Table Talks Series featuring Black Women Writers Feb 10, 2025 The two literary organizations dedicated to creating community for Black women writers will host a series of talks over the next three years thanks to funding from the Mellon Foundation. Wintergreen Women Writers Collective (Wintergreen) and Torch Literary Arts (Torch) are embarking on an intergenerational three-year project for Black women writers called Welcome Table Talks. The virtual discussions will cover various topics related to organization building, literary freedom, legacy, and more. The virtual discussions are free and open to all. The first Welcome Table Talks event will be held on Tuesday, March 11, at 7 p.m. EST. Executive directors from both literary organizations will discuss the journey of building their respective institutions and the changing needs of leadership. Whether you’re a grassroots organizer or starting a nonprofit, this inaugural talk is perfect for self-starters looking for insight. You can RSVP to the first discussion here . “ Wintergreen has been providing a sacred space for women writers since 1987 when I invited Nikki Giovanni to meet other Black women writers in Virginia. In what was still an unwelcoming academic atmosphere, we came together to affirm the vibrancy of Black literary culture and our vital place in it, ” said Dr. Joanne Gabbin, executive director of Wintergreen. In 1987, renowned author and activist Nikki Giovanni moved to Virginia as a Commonwealth Visiting Professor at Virginia Tech. In her honor, Dr Joanne Gabbin organized a small gathering of Black women writers at Wintergreen Resort. What began that day as a simple celebration of sisterhood and life blossomed into something much more. Now, almost four decades later, the Wintergreen Women Writers Collective offers workshops, retreats, and opportunities for Black women writers to connect, hone their craft, and gain exposure. By doing this, the Collective sustains a literary sisterhood focused on "Sacred Work"—creating in a safe, welcoming space that centers the encouragement and support of Black writing and culture, by nurturing each of the women as writers, scholars, and artists. At this literary site, members have workshopped and critiqued each other's work, offering guidance not only on pedagogy but even on publishing, promoting, and naming books. Annual retreats have served as nourishing spaces for seeds of ideas that resulted in programs, conferences, centers, and organizations. The Collective's range of public and private work has produced a supportive environment for the formation of mission-aligned institutions and organizations like Furious Flower, History of Black Writing, and Cave Canem. The Collective provides a haven for generational perspectives where emerging writers learn from senior writers and in turn spark new ideas. It is a place where the women go to heal, transform, and renew themselves. It provides a way to support systemic change in our communities while bringing about personal transformation. This work contributes to the Mellon-funded implementation project by Wintergreen entitled “The Women Gather.” One area of key development the funding supports is building strategic partnerships with mission-aligned organizations like Torch. “I’m excited to witness the magic this event produces,” said Amanda Johnston, founder and executive director of Torch Literary Arts. “When we provide space to learn from each other while simultaneously encouraging emerging writers and future leaders, we are creating invaluable resources and inspiring unimaginable work.” You can find out more about Wintergreen by visiting their website at wintergreenwomenwriterscollective.com , and more about their pilot partnership, Torch, at torchliteraryarts.org . ### About Wintergreen Writers Collective The Wintergreen Women Writers Collective is a 501(c)3 organization that gathers Black women writers in a literary community that seeks to publish, document, preserve, and celebrate their creative work. More than 70 women from all over the country have taken part in one or more of the Wintergreen retreats or programs over the last 38 years, coming to a place where they can do the sacred work of literary and cultural production. Wintergreen Women are prefiguring a world where the history and legacy of Black women writers are honored and preserved — a world where Black women writers have access to intergenerational spaces where, in community and mutuality, they can nurture one another and locate resources to support their creative practice. Members of the Collective share their knowledge and creativity as a way of encouraging and engaging one another and their extended literary and scholarly communities. About Torch Literary Arts Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit established with love and intention in 2006 to publish and promote creative writing by Black women. We publish contemporary writing by experienced and emerging writers alike. Torch Magazine has featured work by Toi Derricotte, Tayari Jones, Sharon Bridgforth, Crystal Wilkinson, Patricia Smith, Natasha Trethewey, and others. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats. Media Contact Information: Brittany Heckard Communications Associate bheckard@torchliteraryarts.org (512) 641-9251 Previous Next

< Back Torch Literary Arts Receives Poetry Foundation Grant Brittany Heckard Jul 12, 2024 Torch Literary Arts (Torch), a nonprofit organization dedicated to amplifying Black women writers, will receive funding from the Poetry Foundation. This is the nonprofit’s second year receiving funding from the foundation. AUSTIN, Tex., July 12, 2024 – Torch Literary Arts (Torch), a nonprofit organization dedicated to amplifying Black women writers, will receive funding from the Poetry Foundation. This is the nonprofit’s second year receiving funding from the foundation. “Poetry is one of the most declarative ways that Black women voice themselves,” said Torch founder and executive director, Amanda Johnston. “Receiving funding from the Poetry Foundation allows our poets to continue writing and publishing their truths and experiences.” The Poetry Foundation grant will support Torch Features, ensuring that all published writers are paid professionally; funding to sustain full-time and part-time staff; and funding to continue our yearly programming including the Wildfire Reading Series, annual Torch Retreat, and much more. The Poetry Foundation’s relationship with Torch has been an impactful grantee-partner relationship, as highlighted in the Poetry Foundation’s recognition of Torch in their recently released article . Torch is one of around 50 nonprofits to receive funding from the 2024 grant cycle from over 200 applicants and one of just two recipients from Texas. Keeping their promise to equitable giving, Torch is one of nearly 40 of the BIPOC-led nonprofit grant recipients. The Poetry Foundation has donated over $6.3 million to U.S.-based nonprofit organizations including literary presses and magazines since the inception of their grantmaking initiative in 2022. More than 60% of the organization's grantmaking goes to operational support, and nearly 60% of giving directly impacts diverse nonprofits. You can read more about the Poetry Foundation’s 2024 grant cycle in their press release here . About Torch Literary Arts Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit established with love and intention in 2006 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. About the Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation recognizes the power of words to transform lives. The Foundation works to amplify poetry and celebrate poets by fostering spaces for all to create, experience, and share poetry. Follow the Poetry Foundation on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and Twitter . Media Contact Information: Brittany Heckard Communications Associate bheckard@torchliteraryarts.org (512) 641-9251 Previous Next

< Back Dalia Azim Board Member Dalia Azim is a writer born in Canada and raised in the United States. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post , The New York Times , American Short Fiction , and Poets & Writers , among other places. Her first novel, Country of Origin , was published in 2022 and received the Discovery Award from the Writers’ League of Texas. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her family and is the COO of the Texas Book Festival.