What We Publish
Torch Literary Arts seeks original creative work by Black women writers. We are interested in work that challenges and disrupts preconceived notions of what Black women’s contemporary writing should be. Your stories and poems are valuable and necessary. Write freely and submit work you are excited to share with the world.
Submission Guidelines
Reading Period
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General submissions are accepted for Friday Features only.
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We accept submissions on a rolling basis.
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There is no submission fee.
Simultaneous Submissions
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Simultaneous submissions to other journals are welcome as long as they are identified as such and we are notified immediately upon acceptance elsewhere.
Manuscript Guidelines
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Include a one (1) page cover letter noting the title(s) of the work(s) submitted.
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Upload your text submission as a Word (DOC, DOCX) or portable document format (PDF).
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Typed, double-spaced (poetry may be single-spaced) pages.
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Numbered pages.
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Margins should be set at no less than 1” and no greater than 1.5”.
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Poetry: submit up to five (5) poems totaling no more than eight (8) pages.
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Fiction, Hybrid genre: 12-point font. No more than ten (10) pages or 2500 words (whichever is achieved first). Excerpts of longer works are welcome if self-contained.
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Drama/Screenwriting: submit one act or a collection of short scenes no longer than ten (10) pages. Excerpts of longer works are welcome if self-contained. Indicate if a performance video or dramatic audio reading will be available with the text submission if selected.
Restrictions
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We do not reprint previously published work for Friday Features.
Submitting Online
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We accept submissions via our online submission management system only. Submissions via postal mail or email will be discarded without response.
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To submit online, please use the TORCH submission management system, found here.
Notifications and Queries
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Expect up to three months for a decision. Using our online submissions system, you will be able to track the status of your submission. Contact us after three months with questions via our contact form.
Publication & Compensation
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Publication is online at TorchLiteraryArts.org, unless expressly stated for print publication.
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All work will be archived on our website.
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Authors with work selected for a Friday Feature will receive $100 (US) payment.
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All rights revert back to the author after publication.
Awards
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All work accepted for publication will be considered for nomination for internal and external awards such as The Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, etc.
Funding is made possible in part by generous donations from individuals like you.